WIU Food Pantry Featured in Food Insecurity Film
Since 2018, the Western Illinois University Food Pantry has been dedicated to helping feed students, faculty and staff in need. Because of the longstanding success of the program on the WIU-Macomb campus, a documentary filmmaker is featured the pantry in a new documentary, 'Learning Hungry.' The film will be shown at Western from 4-5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6 in Stipes Hall 121. The event is open free to the public.
Pantry Director Emily Shupe worked with producer Dave Miner to address food insecurity among college students, and the work done at Western to combat the concern. DPD Media Solutions visited campus April 9, where the production crew interviewed staff and students, and captured footage. The film premiered Sept. 15 at the Kan-Kan Cinema and Bar in Indianapolis. In addition to documenting the WIU Food Pantry's journey, the crew joined Shupe's Nutrition 301 Food Science course to learn about their work with addressing hunger.
According to the film's description, ''Learning Hungry: Food Insecurity on Campus' pulls back the curtain on the quiet, basic needs crisis in higher education, where 40% of college students face food insecurity.'
'We are continuing to see increased growth of individuals utilizing the WIU Food Pantry, In 2025 we served 7,768 individuals and gave out nearly 32,000 pounds of food. In the first 8 months of 2026 we have already served 7,992 individuals and in the past eight months we have already given out 33,822 pounds of food,' Shupe pointed out. 'The need is definitely there and we are grateful that we can help meet the needs of our students.'
