The supermarket chain Wegmans is teaming up with the School of Art to help combat food insecurity in the Cooper community. Starting this fall, the Rochester-based company, which opened a store in the East Village in 2023, will be providing gift cards to art undergraduates as well as students in the Saturday Program, an initiative prompted by the school’s growing awareness of student need. In turn, students will be creating art installations for the windows of the local Wegmans.

According to Saturday Program Director José Ortiz, food costs are a serious issue for many high school students and their families in New York City. “Upon starting my role as director in late November 2023, the need to support our students with a lunch meal presented itself immediately,” he says. Ortiz and the program’s assistant director, Ciana Malchione A’21, researched the extent of the problem, then brought their concerns to Adriana Farmiga A’96, dean of the School of Art. Coincidentally, Farmiga had already been in discussion with Wegmans, having similarly noted that many Cooper’s undergraduates often struggle to afford food.

“We’re very aware that food insecurity is a present concern in our community,” says Sam Draxler, administrative manager in the School of Art. “This is true for Saturday Program students, and we also see it in internal requests for relief funding for art students (like the Norman Sanders Students Fund) a huge number of requests that mention food or groceries as immediate needs and concerns.”

The Wegmans collaboration will result in Saturday Program students receiving $15 Wegmans gift cards for lunch once a month during the school year from October to December 2024 and February to April 2025, a donation worth $18,000. They will also receive Wegmans brand snacks to have on hand for the Saturday program, which is worth $4,000 for the school year. The initiative also provides $1,000 in gift cards per month during the school year for Cooper Union undergraduate art students who cannot afford a meal. They can access these funds at the School of Art office, which will distribute this support using $20 gift cards.

"As a newer member of this neighborhood, we continue to look for ways to support the communities we serve while keeping with our giving philosophy. Wegmans' partnership with Cooper Union supports not only our commitment to addressing food insecurity, but also helps our young people thrive," said Linda Lovejoy, Wegmans Corporate Community Relations Manager.

The Saturday Program, which serves approximately 200 New York City high school students a year, gives free, in-depth studio art training to students from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds. They learn directly from working artists, gaining firsthand exposure to the art profession and exploring significant artworks at NYC’s top museums, inspiring their creative endeavors. Offered each fall and spring, the courses include drawing, painting, graphic design, digital media/photography, sculpture, and architecture. Students typically enroll for the academic year, allowing for an intensive progression of skill development.

Despite offering free education and materials, The Cooper Union lacks facilities to address food insecurity for its Saturday Program students. The Collaboration with Wegmans helps address this need. At the same time, students’ artwork for Wegman’s will highlight themes of hunger and food insecurity. The program's annual cycle includes introducing the partnership during fall instructor training, engaging students with these themes from the start of the academic year, and culminating with the creation and public display of student projects in collaboration with Wegmans.

While the current project is slated only for the 2024–25 school year, all parties are hoping to extend the collaboration and work together on more community projects.