ESCANABA — TRIO Student Support Services on Bay College’s Escanaba campus held a Student Food Pantry Cook-off March 3 in the HUB Hospitality Room. Student participants were required to prepare dishes using at least one food item from the pantry, list all the ingredients in the dish, and make enough for at least 15 small sample portions. Students and staff were then invited to sample the dishes and vote on their favorite entries, providing a tasty and collegial opportunity prior to Bay’s Spring Break.

Nine students prepared dishes, with over 50 additional students and staff participating in the event, sampling dishes ranging from desserts to international cuisine. First place winner for the student vote was Richard Davenport with his quinoa, steak, and shrimp dish. Second place went to Erin Stevenson with her creamy bacon asparagus pasta. Michelle Wall’s butterscotch pretzel bars won the first place staff vote, with Meredith Seppanen coming in second with her thai pork and noodles. Winners received a variety of cooking appliances to encourage the development of their culinary gifts.

Bay College has had a food pantry in operation since November 2017. Between its inception and May 2018, the pantry served 127 Bay College students who used 3,842 pounds of items, with numbers expected to rise for the 2018-2019 school year.

The pantry is staffed primarily by student workers and interns and supervised by TRIO professional staff members. Food and other essential items are provided through partnerships with Feeding America West Michigan and Aldi. Public and private donations are also accepted and welcomed.

The food pantry’s winter semester hours are 3 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 1 to 3 p.m. on Fridays in the Catherine Bonifas Building room 232. Weekly samples are also provided in the HUB Hospitality Room on the Escanaba campus.

To learn more about Bay College’s TRIO program or the Student Food Pantry, contact trio@baycollege.edu