The Open Seat Food Pantry is running a petition demanding University of Wisconsin Leadership provide a permanent, full-time staff member position funded by the university, according to the petition’s website.
The Open Seat is UW’s student-run food pantry and is run by eight part-time student employees who distribute over 32,000 pounds of food per month to hundreds of students, according to the petition’s website.
“UW-Madison refuses to adequately address student food insecurity. We, the student staff of The Open Seat Food Pantry, need your help to demand they do better — we need a full-time staff member,” the petition reads.
The Open Seat demands Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor provide a full-time, permanent staff member dedicated entirely to pantry operations, according to the petition.
The Open Seat also demands current staff have meaningful hiring authority, including the power to reject candidates who aren’t a good fit during the hiring process. The petition also requests tuition remission for The Open Seat’s graduate student advisor.
This petition comes after a surge in shoppers to The Open Seat food pantry this winter, according to past coverage by The Badger Herald.
The Associated Students of Madison shared in an Instagram post Nov. 11 that they saw an exponential increase in shoppers among FoodShare uncertainty.
In November 2024, The Open Seat Food pantry served 1,410 households and in this past November 2025, this number increased to 3,053 households, according to The Open Seat’s Internal Director Grace Van Voorst.
“Over the past two years, we’ve seen a dramatic and alarming increase in the number of students seeking support from us,” Van Voorst said. “We’re seeing a lot of new shoppers come through the pantry, and while we’re excited we can be serving more students, that’s also really frightening, to think of how much student insecurity is increasing on our campus.”
The Open Seat currently receives funding from two established institutional sources: segregated student fees from ASM and the Campus Food Access Fund, administered by the dean of students, according to associate communications director for Student Affairs Darcy Wittberger.
“Given the Open Seat’s growth in use and expenditures, we continue to explore multiple funding avenues to support the pantry’s supply and staffing needs — including the possibility of a professional position,” Wittberger said in an email statement. “A working group is developing recommendations informed by results from UW-Madison’s first student basic needs survey, which will be shared this semester.”
Dean of Students Christina Olstad has been in contact with students at Open Seat and remains committed to “developing a solution,” according to Wittberger. Chancellor Mnookin has approved a threefold increase in segregated fee-funded support for The Open Seat operations, according to Wittberger.
This increase in operational budget, via student segregated fees was to hire additional part time students, not related to a request for a full time position funded by the university, according to Van Voorst. But for The Open Seat, past assurances of support by the UW administration have been “short-term” or “half-hearted,” according to Van Voorst.
“The Open Seat has been grateful to receive much needed increases in our food budget over the last year. We’ve also been able to add student employee positions through student segregated fees,” Van Voorst said. “While these adjustments have allowed us to stay open, they fundamentally fail to meet the level of need we are experiencing.”
Last year, the food pantry received a commitment statement from Chancellor Mnookin that they would receive a full time staff member, but despite email follow ups, has yet to “receive a clear answer on whether that commitment still stands,” Van Voorst said.
Students and community members interested in helping The Open Seat can volunteer their time through volunteer work or donate to the Campus Food Access Fund, according to their website.
“At the core, this campaign is about student wellbeing,” Van Voorst said. “No student should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from and no group of students should have to shoulder the responsibility of running a major food access program alone. And so currently we’re advocating for sustainable university support so we can continue to exist for the students who depend on it.”
