UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Ceramics students recently made a $3,500 donation to the University’s student-run food pantry, The Lion’s Pantry, which they raised from selling limited-edition, student-produced bowls over the past two years.
The students’ project, called “Bowled Over,” evolved from the pop-up Clay Café in the Borland Project Space, which offered free tea and coffee served in student-made cups and mugs during week-long residencies in 2019 and early 2020. Conversations about food insecurity inspired the student ceramics club, clay c0ven, to take their activism to the next level.
The students originally planned to make the bowls on campus in summer 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent campus lockdown forced them to change course. Not willing to postpone the project, Anna Graef, who received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2021, and Andrew Castañeda, who received his Master of Fine Arts in 2020, set up a ceramics studio in a garage and got to work making bowls during a time when much of the world was at a standstill. In the fall of 2020, they transferred the unfired bowls to the ceramics studio on campus to be glazed, fired and finished.
“Bowled Over” was co-directed by associate professor Shannon Goff and former Penn State faculty member Kris Grey.
“Penn State Ceramics likes to lead with generosity, and so naturally giving back is forever on my mind,” said Goff, noting she and Grey originally envisioned a collaboration involving units across the University. “Despite our excitement and commitment to what was becoming Bowled Over, we never could have expected a global pandemic. We weren’t willing to give up, but scaled back due to COVID-19…It has been a joy to witness how the process emboldened and bonded the students. Bowled Over strengthened our community, connectivity and engagement with the fight against food insecurity in the region, all while making art accessible.”
Penn State 2022 graduate William Li, who was the director of The Lion’s Pantry in 2021-22, said he was grateful not only for the monetary support, but also the opportunity for collaboration and engagement.
“It was at the initiative of one professor, Shannon Goff, that I found myself surrounded by impossible shapes of clay and glaze, talking about the potential partnership between our two organizations. At the end of our discussion, it wasn’t the prospective monetary support that excited me; it was the dream of engagement, community and solidarity that Shannon shared,” said Li. “At Penn State and beyond, it should be self-evident that we need to foster our sense of community before we can begin to address the complex issues faced by our community. In short, it’s taking steps to embody the sense that ‘We Are!’”
Housing and food insecurity among students was a steady focus for former Penn State President Eric J. Barron's administration, which established a University Task Force on Food and Housing Security in 2020 to evaluate food and housing insecurity as part of overarching efforts focused on access and affordability for Pennsylvania resident students and their families. The task force completed its assessment and shared its recommendations in March 2021, and the University is currently advancing a number of new initiatives as a result. These include housing scholarships and improvements to the student-run Lion’s Pantry at University Park, and pantries at Commonwealth Campuses.
For students who may be facing challenges with food or housing security, resources are available at every campus. All Penn State Commonwealth Campuses have food pantries on campus or in the community. In addition, Student Affairs has staff who can assist students in determining eligibility for public assistance and navigating the application processes for these programs.
As a first point of contact, students at every campus can always call or email Student Care and Advocacy for guidance and help.