In the coming weeks, thousands of college students will walk across a stage and proudly accept their diplomas. Many of them will be hungry.
A survey released this week by Temple University’s Hope Center for College, Community and Justice indicated that 45 percent of student respondents from over 100 institutions said they had been food insecure in the past 30 days. In New York, the nonprofit found that among City University of New York (CUNY) students, 48 percent had been food insecure in the past 30 days.
Although the college food-pantry movement is well underway, as there are now over 700 members at the College and University Food Bank Alliance, efforts have recently expanded to include redistributing leftover food from dining halls and catered events, making students eligible for food stamps and other benefits, and perhaps most important, changing national and state education funding to cover living expenses, not just tuition.
“The hunger movement has been centered around food banks, but that is now changing as people focus on prevention,” said Sara Goldrick-Rab, the founder of the Hope Center and a Temple University professor.
Programs like Share Meals and Swipe Out Hunger (both of which let students donate their extra dining hall meal swipes to those in need) are helping. Additionally, there’s a national movement to redirect unused food from campus dining halls and corporate events.
Sodexo USA, one of the nation’s largest college dining hall operators, has produced a successful pilot program at Northern Arizona University, where students are alerted about leftovers from catered events. This is now an option to any of the colleges that use its services.
To read more of Kaya Laterman's article, please click here.
Comments (1)