"Students Are People First": UM Alum Kat Cowley's Dedication to Student Success
In the lead-up to the annual Brawl of the Wild, Montanans share the traditions of trading jokes with their rival Griz or Cat fans, repping their maroon and silver or blue and gold and making plans for where to watch the big game. And for nearly 25 years, the University of Montana and Montana State University communities have faced off in another fierce off-the-field competition. The Can the Cats (or Can the Griz, if you’re from the wrong side of the divide) food drive runs for three weeks in November and brings in hundreds of thousands of pounds of provisions for Montanans in need.
The drive also has an immediate and powerful impact on UM students facing food insecurity, something ASUM Bear Necessities Director, Kat Cowley, knows firsthand. As an undergraduate, Cowley and her friends often relied on each other or family members to help keep their kitchens stocked.
“I felt frustrated that there wasn’t a resource on campus for that kind of thing yet,” she said.
Cowley began looking into the service gap facing college students who aren’t yet fully independent and employed but who may have difficulty qualifying for assistance like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) credits. As an intern with UM’s Renter’s Center, now Bear Necessities, Cowley began researching how other universities addressed the issue, and creating an on-campus food pantry became the top priority. A space was found in the University Center, and grant funding came in from the Montana Food Bank Network.
Cowley majored in women’s gender and sexuality studies and joined student government her senior year. That experience sparked her interest in UM’s Master’s in Public Administration, and she began grad school in 2018. It turned out to be the perfect education to assist her work at the food pantry.
“It really helped me as I was writing policies and practices for how the food pantry would function,” said Cowley. “Getting to understand how strong policy is written was really helpful. Understanding how public agencies work with each other and work around each other in some way was really valuable.”
She left UM for a while to work in development and fundraising at Mountain Home Montana, but eventually returned to the Bear Necessities office.
“I wanted to work directly with students, and I knew I wanted to help solve the problems I faced as a student as well,” she said.
The pantry is working hard to help students, but the growing need and awareness for their services mean the shelves are always being restocked. The Griz-Cat rivalry is a spirited way to tackle that issue.
“Can the Cats is a huge influx of food,” said Cowley. “Nothing else we do can compare to it.”
Supporting students is the core of Cowley’s job. She wants Bear Necessities to provide not just food, but also a sense of community and dignity for students.
“Not everyone is well-off in college, but no one should be starving and no one should be homeless,” she said. “We’re trying really hard to remind folks that students are people first.”
The Bear Necessities Pantry is looking forward to another influx of Can the Cats goods but also accepts donations year-round. Cowley encourages community members to go beyond staple items and to bring in some of their own favorite foods.