Since starting as a volunteer during her freshman year, political science senior, Yunseo Ki, has been making an impact at the Food Pantry and Clothing Closet at the University of Iowa.
In her current role as Basic Needs Manager, she leads the Basic Needs team and fosters strong relationships with suppliers and donors that have helped distribute 250k+ pounds of food and essential items to students, staff, and faculty in need. Her dedication to student welfare also includes speaking at anti-hunger advocacy events such the World Prize Iowa Hunger Summit and SNAP workshops.
This February, she visited the Iowa State Capitol for Fight Hunger Day on the Hill with fellow political science majors Seth Dickinson and Mia Wells, HACAP Food Reservoir, and the Feeding America Iowa Food Bank Association. The team met with Rep. Jacoby, Sen. Weiner, and Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg to discuss a policy brief they worked on, showing the escalation of hunger in our community and some of our programs. To follow up, state legislators are planning to visit the Food Pantry at Iowa beginning in March.
To further expand essential resources across campus, Yunseo received a 2024 Student Impact Grant for a “Pop-Up Pantry” project. The initiative aims to place and stock five "Pop-Up Pantry" shelves that act as "take what you need, leave what you can" food and other basic needs resources for students visiting the Multicultural and International Student Support (MISSE) areas across campus.
“The driving force for my project stemmed from two key experiences during my academic journey. Firstly, while undertaking a data research project in my Data Visualization course under Prof. Boehmke, and secondly, while working on a paper in my Analyzing Political Data course with Prof. Menninga. Through these projects, I discovered a consistent national trend: marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by food insecurity. Upon examining the data for our pantry, I noticed a similar trend: our pantry was primarily utilized by students of color and international students. This realization inspired me to develop a community-oriented approach to expand essential resources, aiming to support the most vulnerable populations on our campus.”
Yunseo Ki also serves as a Political Science Peer Mentor and was a recipient of the 2022-2023 Molly C. and Joseph R. Gaylord Scholarship, 2023-2024 Political Science DEO Scholarship, and 2023-2024 Helen Fairall Scholarship.
After graduation, she plans to attend law school and continue advocacy work with non-profits.
Interested in supporting the “Pop-up Pantry?” Please contact stuorg-foodpantry@uiowa.edu to learn more!
