The University of Mary Washington received a grant from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) earlier this year to support efforts addressing student food insecurity and campus hunger.

UMW was awarded nearly $9,000 through SCHEV’s Hunger-Free Campus Food Pantry Grant Program, created through legislation enacted by the Virginia General Assembly last year to help colleges and universities expand access to nutritious food and strengthen campus food pantry operations.

At UMW, the grant will benefit the Gwen Hale Resource Center (GHRC), which provides food, clothing, and other basic necessities and resources to students.

“This generous grant will allow UMW to expand our services,” said University Librarian Amy Filiatreau, who helps manage the GHRC. “We anticipate purchasing much-needed new appliances and shelving, as well as expanding our offerings of free, nutritious food for our community.” Read more about UMW’s food security efforts.

The University of Mary Washington is a premier, selective public liberal arts and sciences university in Virginia, highly respected for its commitment to academic excellence, strong undergraduate liberal arts and sciences program, and dedication to life-long learning. The university, with a total enrollment of about 4,000, features colleges of business, education and arts and sciences, and three campuses, including a residential campus in Fredericksburg, Virginia, a second one in nearby Stafford and a third in Dahlgren, Virginia, which serves as a center of development of educational and research partnerships between the Navy, higher education institutions and the region’s employers