The VISTA Project

Serving as a TMA AmeriCorps VISTA member for the 2021–2022 cohort, Shani McLean took on the role of Pantry Manager for the Towson University FoodShare Program. Driven by a commitment to public health and social responsibility, Shani dedicated her service year to optimizing pantry operations, expanding campus community outreach, and designing educational programming to empower clients with essential food security skills.

The Challenge
College campuses often face hidden but severe challenges regarding basic-needs access, where food insecurity directly conflicts with student health, well-being, and academic success. At Towson University, the FoodShare program required a structural overhaul to effectively market its services, dismantle the social stigma associated with seeking assistance, scale its community outreach, and transition away from passive donation reliance toward stable, long-term programmatic operations.

The Solution
Shani transformed the pantry experience by restructuring daily operations to mirror a welcoming, grocery store-like environment that restored client dignity. To streamline data collection, she created a digital checkout system using Microsoft Forms. Shani aggressively expanded the program's capacity by managing communications for over 5,000 donors, partners, and volunteers, while directly mobilizing 67+ volunteers to process donations. She built high-impact partnerships with local and regional organizations—including Maryland SNAP-Ed, Maryland Hunger Solutions, One Straw Farm CSA, and Sweetgreen—and executed diverse educational events, such as cooking demonstrations, financial literacy workshops, and farmer’s market style pop-up pantries.

The Legacy
Shani’s systems-building approach drove a staggering 141% increase in pantry utilization from Fall 2021 to Spring 2022, resulting in the distribution of over 2,000 essential food bags to the Towson community. Her operational strategy secured vital in-kind support, including a donation of 560 meals from Sweetgreen valued at over $7,200. By hiring, training, and supervising a full-time intern and work-study staff, establishing an advisory framework, and integrating nutritional expertise from Maryland SNAP-Ed into the strategic plan, Shani left behind a sustainable, data-driven campus support ecosystem.

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Life After VISTA

Shani is currently a graduate student at Georgia State University, pursuing her Master’s Degree in Dietetics. In tandem with exploring the complexities of dietetic science and public health advocacy, Shani has established a groundbreaking student organization at GSU dedicated to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) values, continuing her mission to dismantle systemic barriers to health and nutrition access.