Are you in need of a hot meal? We can help! Please email us at retrieveressentials@umbc.edu so that we can help you enroll in our Save-a-Swipe program.

Meet our new Student Leadership Board! We are so excited to be working with these dedicated students this semester! 

Save-A-Swipe creates a pool of meals that become available to UMBC students who have been identified by trained staff as food insecure.

This semester, students can sign up to donate 5 or 10 meals through our online form. 

Sign up here to donate meals: http://tinyurl.com/saveaswipe
The last day to donate meals is Sept 10th, 2020.

If you are in need of meals, email retrieveressentials@umbc.edu to be assisted.

Hello UMBC community,

The pantry is in need of toiletries (***highly needed), peanut butter (***highly needed), canned soups, canned fruit, and pasta. 

You can donate through our Amazon wishlists here:

Pantry Items
Toiletries

Email retrieveressentials@umbc.edu for more information.

Thank you in advance for your continued support!!!

Thanks to the Women's Center for donating menstruation and sexual health products to the pantry! Pads, tampons, and condoms can now be accessed by the community here. We are so grateful for our strong partnership with the Women's Center especially during this challenging time. Stay well everyone!

The Retriever Essentials Team is looking for a Media and Communications intern!

The intern must be creative, social media savvy, and passionate about food security! Please see this position on UMBCworks. 

In addition, we are looking for ambassadors for our Student Leadership Board! Please email rebferg1@umbc.edu for more information.

Hello UMBC Community, 
We need your help to prepare our collaborative space at OCA Mocha! The space will house our new program, Towards Wholesome Eating. This program will increase the food security of the UMBC and surrounding communities by providing folks with fresh, local, and nutritious produce.  

We are currently looking for shelving like this.

In addition, we need your continued support in funding our Gritstarter campaign. These funds will allow us to purchase refrigeration for fresh produce and other perishable items. Please consider supporting us anyway you can while we prepare for this exciting new program!

Dear Community Partners,
Please consider donating reusable tote bags to help Retriever Essentials in its mission to serve the food insecure members of the UMBC community. We are looking for medium- and large-sized durable bags. We use the tote bags to pack a week’s supply of essential grocery items (as shown in the picture below).

You can drop your donations at the Campus Police Office or OCA Mocha (5410 East Drive, Arbutus, MD 21227). Please visit OCA Mocha’s website to check the up-to-date operation hours. When you arrive at the Campus Police Station or OCA Mocha, you can use these Retriever Essentials donation boxes to drop-off your donations (see pictures below). 

For your and the staff safety, we request you to adhere to the COVID-19 regulations as specified by the state.

Thank you for your continued support!

The Retriever Essentials Team