President Freeman Hrabowski has been supportive of Retriever Essentials since its inception. Through his leadership and the UMBC community’s contribution, just last year Retriever Essentials distributed 367 food bags to our deserving students, staff, and faculty members in need. Similarly, 410 meal swipes were donated to the students experiencing food insecurity, in 2019. This and much more has been possible with the constant support from his office and all of you.

Please view our president's message here and support Retriever Essentials like you always do.  

On the third annual UMBC Giving Day, please help Retriever Essentials reach its goal of 100 donors this year!
 
We hope your commitment to provide food and other essentials items to UMBC members in need will continue to multiply. This Giving Day join us in the #Blackandgoldrush. On February 27^th, Thursday, please visit https://givingday.umbc.edu to make a gift for Retriever Essentials. No matter the size, your gift will help Retriever Essentials improve food and basic need access in the UMBC community.

Facebook link is available here. Please feel free to share and spread the message. 

Our observation and conclusion is that the proposed bill does not carry more benefits for GAs at UMBC in comparison to the risks it could incur. Therefore, we do not support the bill as it is proposed.

We encourage you to read through the bill HB214/SB0658 and UMBC GSA's overview of it to get a deeper understanding of this important legislature. We welcome any questions you have and are very interested in any feedback you have to offer. GAAC is here to represent the GA body as a whole, and the best way to have your voice heard is to reach out and connect with us!

Hope to hear from you soon,

The Graduate Student Advisory Council

gaac@umbc.edu

Save-a-Swipe is a partnership between Retriever Essentials, Chartwells, and Campus Card Services which allows you to donate 5 or 10 swipes from your meal plan that can be used by students who are experiencing food insecurity. Please share your extra meal swipes with your peers in need before the swipes expire.

Sign up to donate your excess meals until Feb 14, 2020, Friday. 

Click here or go to the link below to make your donation. 

Beginning Sunday, March 1, 2020 the following route names, configuration, and scheduling changes will go into effect at UMBC Transit:

Arbutus - Route Map (Weekdays & Weekends) — The existing Arbutus/MARC route will be renamed to Arbutus. The new route will increase service to downtown Arbutus - East Dr. (OCA Mocha), and shorten the time it takes to get to the Satellite Lot. 

BWI MARC - Route Map (Weekdays - See Arundel for weekend BWI MARC service) — The current Arbutus/MARC route will be split into two routes with BWI MARC being an entirely new route. The new route color will be black and service will be closely aligned to the MTA 201 and MARC train schedules. This route will provide access with a bus stop at the RAC circle on the outbound trips, and will service the loop on the inbound trips.

Arundel - Route Map (Weekends) — The existing Arundel route will now service BWI MARC/Amtrak Station / MTA 201 Commuter bus, on both outbound and inbound trips to Arundel Mills Mall. 

Downtown - Route Map (Weekdays & Weekends) — This route will now provide access with a bus stop at the RAC circle on the outbound trips. Stop #5. Greene St. & Fayette St. (UMB) is officially changed and moved to stop #5. Baltimore St. & Greene St. (UMB)

For further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our office. 410.455.2454

Deaira Lloyd is a double major studying Anthropology and Sociology and will be receiving her Certificate in the Social Dimensions of Health. She is in the BA/MA program of Applied Sociology and will be graduating this spring.

Prior to joining Retriever Essentials, Fariha, the Program Coordinator/CCMA AmeriCorps VISTA, invited me to join the team as a Student Ambassador. Interestingly, around that time, I wanted to become more involved on campus and was reading about various organizations at UMBC. I felt that her initiation was my calling. 
 
I was not aware of the duties of the role, the term “food insecurity”, or the number of students at UMBC that suffered from it. After our first meeting last fall, I was intrigued to learn about the term and what I could do to eliminate it throughout college students’ experiences. 
 
My role as a Student Ambassador, PRAC Leader, and Food Pantry Manager has awakened me to the little things that add up to a life changing outcome. Initiatives such as the save-a-swipe program, donating non-perishable food items, and the volunteers transporting goods to numerous food zones has taught me the importance of working together to support a greater cause. It’s crucial that students who suffer from food insecurity are able to have a sense of belonging on campus, especially to a group that acknowledges and supports them.
 
Retriever Essentials has taught me that you can always help someone. Sharing a message, a canned good, time, support, anything, is worthy. This experience has made me perceive life more delicately as I witness students coming into the pantry creating their own food bag. You truly never know the struggles that someone is experiencing, and how your service helps them by simply being there. 
Being able to support a community of students who are in need of nutrition and other necessities is a very gracious, thoughtful, and moving feeling. I’m excited for the continuous expansion and purpose of Retriever Essentials, and I’m thankful for this humbling experience. 

Save-a-Swipe is a partnership between Retriever Essentials, Chartwells, and Campus Card Services which allows you to donate 5 or 10 swipes from your meal plan that can be used by students who are experiencing food insecurity. Please share your extra meal swipes with your peers in need before the swipes expire.

Sign up to donate your excess meals until Feb 14, 2020, Friday. 

Click here or go to the link below to make your donation.