Willamette University closed the on-campus hub where students could get free food, clothing and textbooks after the number of students using its food pantry fell from 257 to 21 per school year.
The Students Organizing for Access to Resources (SOAR) Center, a volunteer-run space on the third floor of the Putnam University Center, shut its doors at the end of the 2024-25 academic year, The Collegian first reported. The center had operated since 2018.
About 23% of Willamette's nearly 1,800 students qualified for federal financial assistance as of 2025, according to the university's institutional research data. Those students no longer have a single campus hub for basic-needs support, though the university has redistributed services to other locations.
Justin Leibowitz, assistant dean for community care and inclusion, told The Collegian the center's Bearcat Pantry had been wasting donated food from its partner, Marion Polk Food Share. The center "had a partnership with Marion Polk Food Share … and we were taking food from [them] and ultimately throwing it away," Leibowitz said.
A task force created by the SOAR Center reviewed operations ahead of the 2025-26 school year and presented findings to the Associated Students of Willamette University senate in April. The group identified two main problems: the center could not distribute the products it received, and its funding was unsustainable.
The Community Action Fund for Equity & Sustainability (CAFES), which had bankrolled the center, pulled its support. CAFES funds are intended for new or pilot projects, not ongoing annual expenses, according to the committee's website. Leibowitz said CAFES advised administrators it was "prepared to stop funding the Center because the spirit of CAFES is … not really meant to be a[n] annual expense."
University officials scattered the remaining services. Professional clothing went to the Willamette University School of Law because law students were the primary users, Leibowitz and Heather Kropf, assistant vice president and dean of students, told The Collegian. Leftover clothing was donated.
Kropf said student affairs staff moved the textbook program to Hatfield Library during the summer of 2025. The library now offers free and low-cost textbooks through the Willamette Textbook Collection.
Students who need food are directed to the university's online Student Resource Page, which links to off-campus food pantries and Oregon assistance programs. Willamette also maintains an emergency fund that provides limited financial support for unexpected expenses without affecting a student's financial aid package.
Branded SOAR Center signage still appears on the third floor of Putnam and on some course syllabi, creating confusion about whether the center remains open.
Kropf told The Collegian a future student club or action team focused on providing aid could still take shape on campus.
