Wolverine Essentials is a one-stop location for currently enrolled University of Michigan-Flint students to access basic needs services and resources linking them to supplemental food, housing resources, gently used clothing, toiletries, and other basic needs resources.
Wolverine Essentials, formerly the Wolverine Food Den, started as a “by students, for students” initiative to help students who faced food insecurities on campus. In 2015, students from the UM-Flint’s social work program wanted to assist in addressing food insecurities, which affect many college students. The social work department conducted a study on student food insecurity on the Flint campus. This study indicated that 58 percent of the respondents stated they skipped or missed meals due to food availability sometimes, often, or all the time, while 38 percent reported lacking basic food needs. Over 30 students worked on this project to create the Wolverine Food Den. These students successfully secured grants from the Ann Arbor campus and the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan to begin the new food pantry, which opened in April 2019.
Today, in addition to food, Wolverine Essentials has grown to include a clothing closet, toiletries and hygiene items, assistance with state benefits, along with a host of other resources and services related to housing, transportation, health and wellness.
