International students like Malyadrinaidu Neerukattu are frequent shoppers at Cats’ Cupboard, the food pantry at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, in part because restricted visas limit them from seeking off-campus jobs.  

Located a short, five-minute walk from his residence, Neerukattu frequently pops by the pantry to grab a breakfast item or snack. He and his friends “talk openly” about food insecurity and try to help one another by sharing available resources, including access to meals that go unused on purchased meal plans, coupons for dairy products at Call Hall Dairy Bar run by the College of Animal Science and coupons for free fresh produce provided by a local supermarket.  

“There is so much good stuff, like fresh vegetables, like fruit, like apples, and things I need that the Cats’ Cupboard is supplying for the students, and it’s free,” says the 21-year-old graduate student from India who is studying computer analytics. “Especially for the international students, we need to be careful about every dollar and to budget for our studies.” 

Mobashsira Tasnim, a 27-year-old graduate student from Bangladesh studying GIS (Geographic Information Systems), shops weekly at Cats’ Cupboard. 

“I think most of the international students are partially or entirely dependent on Cats’ Cupboard food, and I really appreciate the providers who have helped us in that way…I would say thank you very much for your support,” she says.