{"id":8767,"date":"2026-05-11T15:06:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T15:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/?p=8767"},"modified":"2026-05-11T15:06:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T15:06:59","slug":"theas-pantry-reflections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on a Semester in Thea&#8217;s Pantry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today we have a special guest post from Sara Carter, our Thea&#8217;s Pantry intern!<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hi, my name is Sara and I was the intern for Thea\u2019s Pantry this semester. When I first started my internship at the pantry, I honestly did not know what to expect. I had heard of the pantry before, and knew that food insecurity was an issue for many college students, but I never fully understood how common it really was. I also did not fully understand how difficult it can be for students to ask for help, especially if there is a stigma surrounding food insecurity. I thought the pantry would be somewhere tucked away, and that not many people would visit. But I couldn\u2019t be more wrong. The pantry represents so much more than just a place to get food. <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-8768 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2026\/05\/image1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"A woman with long brown hair wearing a white shirt with black polka dots takes a selfie in front of a gold tinsel backdrop.\" width=\"237\" height=\"178\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2026\/05\/image1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2026\/05\/image1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2026\/05\/image1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2026\/05\/image1-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2026\/05\/image1.jpg 1999w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 237px) 100vw, 237px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the semester went on, my perspective completely changed. I learned how many students are balancing responsibilities that others may never see. Many students are working jobs, paying rent, supporting family members, and struggling with rising food costs. The pantry serves students from many different backgrounds, and it opened my eyes to how common food insecurity can be, even among people who appear to be doing well on the outside.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Working at the pantry taught me the importance of compassion and creating a welcoming environment. Small interactions, like greeting students kindly or helping them find what they need, can make a huge difference. I realized the pantry is not only about providing food but also about supporting students during stressful times. Seeing students leave with relief and gratitude reminded me of how important community resources are on college campuses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This internship has helped me grow professionally, and I am so grateful that it challenged many of my assumptions and helped me become a more understanding and empathetic person. I started the semester thinking I would simply be helping stock shelves and weigh food, but ended up planning events, making friends, and helping others. This internship showed me how meaningful even small acts of support can be, and it is an experience I will carry with me moving forward in my career.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Thank you to Sara for all of her hard work this semester! If you would like to learn more about Thea&#8217;s Pantry, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/theas-pantry\/\">visit our website<\/a>!<\/em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8769 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2026\/05\/image2-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"A person sits behind a table covered with items and informational materials for Thea's Pantry at Worcester State University, with a blue tablecloth displaying the pantry\u2019s name.\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2026\/05\/image2-768x1023.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2026\/05\/image2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2026\/05\/image2-1153x1536.jpg 1153w, https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2026\/05\/image2.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today we have a special guest post from Sara Carter, our Thea&#8217;s Pantry intern!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":7205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,15],"tags":[7],"class_list":["post-8767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faces-of-leadership","category-student","tag-civic-engagement"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Reflections on a Semester in Thea&#039;s Pantry | Worcester State University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reflections on a Semester in Thea&#039;s Pantry | Worcester State University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today we have a special guest post from Sara Carter, our Thea&#8217;s Pantry intern!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Campus Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-11T15:06:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2025\/01\/Blog-Header-Templates-1-1024x577.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"577\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sarah Potrikus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sarah Potrikus\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/11\\\/theas-pantry-reflections\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/11\\\/theas-pantry-reflections\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sarah Potrikus\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/76539d5ec6e84372703ff79a508a32c9\"},\"headline\":\"Reflections on a Semester in Thea&#8217;s Pantry\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-11T15:06:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/11\\\/theas-pantry-reflections\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":395,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/11\\\/theas-pantry-reflections\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/56\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/Blog-Header-Templates-1.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Civic Engagement\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Faces of Leadership\",\"Student\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/11\\\/theas-pantry-reflections\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/11\\\/theas-pantry-reflections\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/11\\\/theas-pantry-reflections\\\/\",\"name\":\"Reflections on a Semester in Thea's Pantry | Worcester State University\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/11\\\/theas-pantry-reflections\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/11\\\/theas-pantry-reflections\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/56\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/Blog-Header-Templates-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-11T15:06:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/76539d5ec6e84372703ff79a508a32c9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/11\\\/theas-pantry-reflections\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/11\\\/theas-pantry-reflections\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/11\\\/theas-pantry-reflections\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/56\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/Blog-Header-Templates-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/56\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/Blog-Header-Templates-1.png\",\"width\":1640,\"height\":924,\"caption\":\"box of groceries and canned goods\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/11\\\/theas-pantry-reflections\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Reflections on a Semester in Thea&#8217;s Pantry\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/\",\"name\":\"Campus Life\",\"description\":\"Just another Worcester State University site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/76539d5ec6e84372703ff79a508a32c9\",\"name\":\"Sarah Potrikus\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/aab87b121ca9753fa95ceed1af286c9bf669e1ce880d065c6164e7f58b271b93?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/aab87b121ca9753fa95ceed1af286c9bf669e1ce880d065c6164e7f58b271b93?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/aab87b121ca9753fa95ceed1af286c9bf669e1ce880d065c6164e7f58b271b93?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sarah Potrikus\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/campus-life\\\/author\\\/sarah-potrikus\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Reflections on a Semester in Thea's Pantry | Worcester State University","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Reflections on a Semester in Thea's Pantry | Worcester State University","og_description":"Today we have a special guest post from Sara Carter, our Thea&#8217;s Pantry intern!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/","og_site_name":"Campus Life","article_published_time":"2026-05-11T15:06:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":577,"url":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2025\/01\/Blog-Header-Templates-1-1024x577.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Sarah Potrikus","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sarah Potrikus","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/"},"author":{"name":"Sarah Potrikus","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/#\/schema\/person\/76539d5ec6e84372703ff79a508a32c9"},"headline":"Reflections on a Semester in Thea&#8217;s Pantry","datePublished":"2026-05-11T15:06:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/"},"wordCount":395,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2025\/01\/Blog-Header-Templates-1.png","keywords":["Civic Engagement"],"articleSection":["Faces of Leadership","Student"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/","url":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/","name":"Reflections on a Semester in Thea's Pantry | Worcester State University","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2025\/01\/Blog-Header-Templates-1.png","datePublished":"2026-05-11T15:06:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/#\/schema\/person\/76539d5ec6e84372703ff79a508a32c9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2025\/01\/Blog-Header-Templates-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2025\/01\/Blog-Header-Templates-1.png","width":1640,"height":924,"caption":"box of groceries and canned goods"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/2026\/05\/11\/theas-pantry-reflections\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reflections on a Semester in Thea&#8217;s Pantry"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/","name":"Campus Life","description":"Just another Worcester State University site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/#\/schema\/person\/76539d5ec6e84372703ff79a508a32c9","name":"Sarah Potrikus","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aab87b121ca9753fa95ceed1af286c9bf669e1ce880d065c6164e7f58b271b93?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aab87b121ca9753fa95ceed1af286c9bf669e1ce880d065c6164e7f58b271b93?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aab87b121ca9753fa95ceed1af286c9bf669e1ce880d065c6164e7f58b271b93?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sarah Potrikus"},"url":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/author\/sarah-potrikus\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8767"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8770,"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8767\/revisions\/8770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/campus-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}