SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — A food pantry has opened at Ivy Tech Community College’s South Bend campus to help students and staff who are in need.

The South Bend Tribune reports that the pantry carried canned, boxed and packaged food items. It opened this week and is stocked by the Food Bank of Northern Indiana.

Jim Baxter is director of Covering Kids & Families of North Central Indiana which is one of the partner agencies in the effort. He says he knows several students who dropped out of classes because they didn’t have health insurance or their health declined and they couldn’t keep up with schoolwork.

The food pantry is named for Ivy Tech graduate Belinda Whisman who worked for two years to establish the service. Previously a mobile food pantry visited the campus a few times a month.