溏心vlog免费B站

Food Insecurity on Campus and Beyond

Apples from 溏心vlog免费B站’s East Farm are sorted and boxed for distribution to 溏心vlog免费B站 students and Rhode Island food banks.

Hunger. It鈥檚 a widespread problem鈥攅ven on college campuses. How is 溏心vlog免费B站 responding to help get food to those in need? Donating and delivering produce grown in our experimental agricultural fields, running a campus food pantry, advocating to expand the federal school lunch program to public colleges, and more.

By Todd McLeish

An international student living in 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Graduate Village Apartments with her three young children was struggling to feed her family while working toward her degree half a world away from her extended family and friends. She was doing the best she could on her limited income, but after paying for her academic expenses, clothing for her growing children, and housing costs, she had little left over for food.

It鈥檚 a surprisingly common problem on university campuses nationwide, and 溏心vlog免费B站 is not immune. Food insecurity is a growing concern, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made the situation even more challenging for an increasing number of students.

Thankfully, 溏心vlog免费B站 has developed a number of resources in recent years to support students in need. It is also growing fresh produce for area food banks and leading efforts to improve access to healthy food for families in need around the state. But much more needs to be done at the state and federal level to address the underlying issues behind these problems to prevent a further escalation of food insecurity on campus and beyond.

Food Insecurity on Campus: The Big Picture

It has only been in the last 10 years that food insecurity has been recognized as a significant problem on college campuses in the United States. According to Kathy Collins, 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 vice president for student affairs, it鈥檚 a subject that simply wasn鈥檛 talked about or acknowledged. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an embarrassing thing for colleges to make public,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut we have to talk about it.鈥�

National surveys have forced the issue into the light.

In 2019, 167,000 students were surveyed by Temple University at 171 two-year colleges and 56 four-year institutions, and 39 percent of respondents indicated they had been food insecure in the previous 30 days, meaning they did not have enough to eat or they were uncertain where their next meal would come from. The rate is lower at four-year schools, where it typically ranges from 8 to 30 percent. A similar survey at 溏心vlog免费B站 found about 13 percent of students were food insecure in 2019.

鈥淭he expansion and diversity of the people who go to college has really changed the landscape,鈥� says Kathleen Gorman, director of 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America, who led the 溏心vlog免费B站 survey. 鈥淢any more lower-income and moderate-income students with limited support from their families, who before wouldn鈥檛 have gone to college, now do. And colleges now have a lot more older students who have families and jobs and are struggling to pay their bills.

鈥淚f 13 percent of our students are food insecure鈥攁nd the true number is probably higher than that鈥攖hen that means a couple thousand students are hungry,鈥� she adds. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not OK.鈥�

Assisting 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Food-Insecure Students

The demographics of those experiencing food insecurity varies widely among 溏心vlog免费B站 students, but it includes commuters, in- and out-of-state students, grad students and even some who live on campus. Student-athletes are particularly susceptible to food insecurity, as only 25 percent are on full scholarship, and their required training regimen鈥攃oupled with their coursework鈥攍eaves little time to earn extra income.

Jacqui Tisdale, Ph.D. 鈥�14, assistant dean for outreach and intervention in the 溏心vlog免费B站 Dean of Students Office, said the survey numbers aren鈥檛 surprising, since the issues people are faced with across the country鈥攁nd that are illustrated by increased visits to food banks鈥攁lso play out on college campuses.

鈥淭oday鈥檚 students are pretty savvy,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey eat out of vending machines, they borrow meal swipes from their friends, they order a pizza and make it last for eight meals. Food insecurity has close ties to housing insecurity, and we see a number of students who have to make choices between stable housing, food, and books. Their version of housing insecurity just looks a little different鈥攖hey鈥檙e couch surfing with friends or living in their cars and lack a consistent address.鈥�

Tisdale serves as a case manager on campus, so students who are hungry eventually find their way to her. She guides them to a variety of services that are now available.

鈥淔ood insecurity has close ties to housing insecurity, and we see a number of students who have to make choices between stable housing, food, and books.鈥�
鈥擩acqui Tisdale, Ph.D. ’14, Assistant Dean for Outreach and Intervention

Rhody Outpost, the campus food pantry, was established in 2013 by two students as their final project in Gorman鈥檚 class. They had an inkling that food insecurity was a concern for many students on campus and believed that if a food pantry were available, students would use it. They were right. Located in the basement of St. Augustine鈥檚 Episcopal Church on Lower College Road and administered by the Dean of Students Office since 2017, it regularly serves the needs of hundreds of students, thanks largely to donations from church members, campus food drives, and fundraising by Greek Life.

In the fall of 2018, a meal-sharing program was launched enabling students on meal plans to donate one meal per semester to students in need. Called Share a Swipe For Hope, the program is modeled after the national Swipe Out Hunger program. Students donate 鈥済uest swipes鈥� from their meal plan via a dining hall kiosk, and those seeking meals can apply to have a certain number of meals added to their ID card so they can easily access meals with their peers anonymously.

鈥淲e run a big campaign every fall and spring to encourage students to share a swipe, and we get a great response,鈥� Tisdale says. 鈥淭here are usually enough swipes donated to meet the need, in part because that鈥檚 not the sole program we offer.鈥�

Students with greater needs than an occasional meal can also apply to the Students First Fund, which provides financial support to students with demonstrated financial need for a variety of emergency uses, including for the purchase of groceries or even an entire dining hall meal plan. 鈥淪hare a Swipe meals are often used for students who are not in the best financial standing with the University鈥攖hose that might have an outstanding balance on their university account or who might not be actively enrolled but are still coming to campus regularly for one reason or another,鈥� Tisdale explains. 鈥淭o access the Students First Fund, students must be enrolled in classes, be in good financial and academic standing, and they must have exhausted all other financial aid options.鈥�

溏心vlog免费B站 Responds to Hunger in Rhode Island

Food insecurity isn鈥檛 just a problem on campus, of course. 溏心vlog免费B站 11 percent of Rhode Island households worry about where their next meal will come from, according to a 2019 report, but that number doubled this year due to the pandemic. National figures are similar.

鈥淯nemployment skyrocketed when the pandemic hit, and the last thing you spend your money on is food,鈥� Gorman says. 鈥淭here are certain things that are less flexible鈥攜ou pay your rent so you don鈥檛 get evicted, you pay for transportation to get to your job. But people scrimp on food. And food prices have gone way, way up.鈥�

It鈥檚 an even greater problem in some segments of society. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that one out of every five Black households, one out of seven Hispanic households, and one out of three single-mother households regularly experience food insecurity.

“If you鈥檙e worried all the time about whether you can get food and how to pay for it, it鈥檚 not just about the food. It鈥檚 the psychological stress and constant worry.鈥�
鈥�Kathleen Gorman, Director, 溏心vlog免费B站 Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America

鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge issue. And if you鈥檙e worried all the time about whether you can get food and how to pay for it, it鈥檚 not just about the food. It鈥檚 the psychological stress and constant worry,鈥� says Gorman. 鈥淵ou can make an argument that it鈥檚 an economic problem and a health problem and a physical nutrition problem, as well. For kids in school who can鈥檛 get enough to eat, it affects their academics, their behavior, how they feel about themselves. It spills over into all kinds of things.鈥�

A number of efforts are underway around the 溏心vlog免费B站 community to respond to this growing problem. Gorman has had a contract for 19 years with the state of Rhode Island to manage its SNAP Outreach Project, which involves helping potentially eligible individuals and families gain access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called food stamps). She has had a team of staff and students visit community centers and other agencies to provide information, conduct screenings, and help people fill out the complicated paperwork and compile the necessary documents to apply for SNAP benefits. They also help recipients complete interim reports and recertify that they still qualify.

This year, the state has taken over the program, but Gorman and Tisdale have applied to make 溏心vlog免费B站 a community partner in the program to help 溏心vlog免费B站 students鈥攁s well as students at Rhode Island College and the Community College of Rhode Island鈥攁ccess SNAP benefits.

In addition to Gorman鈥檚 work, 溏心vlog免费B站 Cooperative Extension coordinates a SNAP Education program led by Sarah Amin, assistant professor of nutrition. She oversees a team of 20 staff members who teach nutrition education to low-income families in urban communities in Rhode Island. The federally funded program encourages people to choose nutritious food through hands-on programming.

鈥淥ne of the critical aspects of our programs is food resource management skills鈥攈ow to stretch your food dollar and use it wisely,鈥� Amin says. 鈥淲e empower participants with cooking skills and food preparation skills, in addition to nutrition information, to make the best food decisions. We teach them how to make a grocery list, for instance, and how to understand unit prices when shopping.鈥�

溏心vlog免费B站 Master Gardeners grow food on the 溏心vlog免费B站 campus and in community gardens, which they harvest and distribute to Rhode Island food banks and other agencies.

Sharing the Harvest

The University also grows a great deal of fresh produce in its agricultural research fields, most of which is donated to local food banks like the Jonnycake Center in Peace Dale, where Kate Brewster 鈥�95 serves as executive director. Tens of thousands of pounds of squash, corn, melons, peppers, tomatoes, and other crops are harvested on campus each year to feed those in need.

鈥淭he Agricultural Experiment Station has been around since 1892, and there鈥檚 always going to be extra food when you鈥檙e experimenting with crops,鈥� says Tim Sherman 鈥�10, who manages the operations at the Gardner Crops Research Center, also known as the Agronomy Farm. 鈥淲e鈥檙e doing fertilizer trials, we鈥檝e got a study on sweet corn, we鈥檝e got a pepper trial. And every year we have crops to harvest from what the students in the vegetable production class have planted.鈥�

Although some of the produce could be sold, the University doesn鈥檛 want to compete with local farmers. 鈥淭he Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension are here to help local farmers and build agriculture in the state,鈥� Sherman says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we do variety trials in the first place鈥攖o see what vegetable varieties grow best in our environment to help our farmers. We don鈥檛 want to be competing with them for sales.鈥�

In addition to what鈥檚 grown on campus, 溏心vlog免费B站 Master Gardeners grow tons of fresh produce each year鈥�15 tons last year alone鈥攁t more than a dozen community gardens around the state for donation to food pantries and other hunger-relief agencies. According to Vanessa Venturini 鈥�08, M.E.S.M. 鈥�11, the Master Gardener state coordinator, they tend vegetable gardens at House of Hope in Warwick, for instance, where many individuals formerly experiencing homelessness now live, and partner with SNAP Education staff to offer workshops to teach the residents how to cook the vegetables they grow. Gardeners tending the Produce Donation Garden at Roger Williams Park in Providence and the Grow4Good Garden at Mount Hope Farm in Bristol do similar workshops for clients of local food pantries.

Connecting Growers, Produce, and Those in Need

At the far corner of 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 East Farm, a mile from the Kingston campus, a dozen Master Gardeners and other volunteers using long-handled poles harvest apples from the University鈥檚 research orchard every week from mid-August through October. Some pick by hand, while others load bright orange totes with apples and sort them before placing them onto a truck for delivery to Graduate Village and the Jonnycake Center. By the end of the season they will have harvested more than 15,000 pounds of apples from 159 apple trees of 11 varieties that would otherwise have dropped to the ground to spoil. A dozen nearby peach and pear trees are also harvested.

Master Gardener Susan Axelrod 鈥�89 has coordinated the harvest for the last four years, often bringing in school and scout groups, Grad Village residents, and others to help pick, though the pandemic limited this year’s participation. 鈥淓veryone has fun picking in the orchard,鈥� she says.

The logistics of this year鈥檚 harvest were managed by Hope鈥檚 Harvest RI, a Pawtucket-based nonprofit that has partnered with the Master Gardeners to collect surplus produce from local farms around the state to deliver to hunger relief agencies in a practice called gleaning. Hope鈥檚 Harvest gleaned more than 80,000 pounds of produce last year that would have otherwise gone to waste. By training Master Gardeners to lead gleaning trips to area farms, it expects to triple that number this year.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 live in a place where we鈥檙e plowing under food and we have people who don鈥檛 have food. It鈥檚 a community鈥攚e have so much food, we just need to get it to the right people.鈥�
鈥擲haron Pavignano 鈥�74, Associate Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for the 溏心vlog免费B站 Foundation and Alumni Engagement

鈥淭here are a lot of things that farmers can鈥檛 control, like the weather and pests, so they often grow more than they need to mitigate risk,鈥� says Eva Agudelo, executive director of Hope鈥檚 Harvest. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 them being good farmers. But they may not have the labor to harvest crops they know they can鈥檛 sell, so Hope鈥檚 Harvest provides the labor and infrastructure. We coordinate with volunteers and food pantries for deliveries.鈥�

Master Gardener Sharon Pavignano 鈥�74, associate director of corporate and foundation relations for the 溏心vlog免费B站 Foundation and Alumni Engagement, also has her hands full during the harvest season. In addition to her regular job responsibilities, she facilitates the movement of produce around campus and ensures that nothing goes to waste. She makes sure Rhody Outpost is supplied with fresh produce each week, alerts the residents of Grad Village when certain crops will be available, coordinates with Dining Services to transport food around campus, and delivers produce to nutritionist Kelli Kidd, who counsels student-athletes, for distribution to hungry athletes. Pavignano even found funding to build a vegetable garden at Grad Village and recruited Master Gardeners to serve as mentors to the student gardeners.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 live in a place where we鈥檙e plowing under food and we have people who don鈥檛 have food,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he people growing the food probably didn鈥檛 know about the food insecurity issue and don鈥檛 have time to move melons to where they鈥檙e needed. It鈥檚 a community鈥攚e have so much food, we just need to get it to the right people.鈥�

Pavignano also coordinates the annual Food Summit, hosted by the 溏心vlog免费B站 Business Engagement Center, a networking opportunity for those in the food industry to hear from local experts, discuss partnership opportunities, learn about funding sources, and support the development of the local food movement in the state. The theme of the 2021 event in January is food insecurity. It is hosted by the Rhode Island Food Center, which Pavignano had a hand in launching on campus in 2016 as a place where farmers, growers, producers, distributors, servers, retailers, and other food pioneers can easily access 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 agricultural resources, wider food expertise, researchers, and business support programs. 

Students who live at 溏心vlog免费B站’s Graduate Village Apartments help harvest and package apples from East Farm. They take home part of the harvest for their own households; the rest is distributed to food banks.

Address the Root Causes

Despite the wide range of activities and programs the University is engaged in to address food insecurity on campus and in the state, the problem is far from solved. To do so, according to Gorman, requires that the root causes of the issue be addressed: low wages and a poorly funded safety net.

鈥淟iving wages鈥攚hich is a lot more than $15 per hour鈥攚ould be the goal and would go a long way toward remedying the problem,鈥� Gorman says. 鈥淏ut not all people are working or can work, so we need a safety net, and that鈥檚 where SNAP comes in. It has the potential to make a huge difference in the lives of many families, so keeping it strong and well-funded is critical. We can do that, with a little political will.鈥�

Gorman has advocated at the federal level to expand the K鈥�12 free- and reduced-price school meals program to the state鈥檚 public colleges, in part because many college students don鈥檛 qualify for SNAP benefits, though the effort hasn鈥檛 gotten much traction yet due to the cost.

鈥淚f families are struggling, we need to help them,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f students are struggling, we need to help them. It鈥檚 complicated, I know, but we should do it anyway.鈥� 鈥�

Students First Fund

Established in 2014, the Students First Fund provides emergency support to 溏心vlog免费B站 students with demonstrated financial need. While it is often used to provide meals to students experiencing food insecurity, it has also reimbursed travel expenses so students can attend a family funeral, paid for medical expenses not covered by health insurance, and subsidized the cost of books and other academic supplies. During the pandemic when classes shifted online, the fund even paid for cell phone costs to access remote classes, since many students are dependent on their phones for internet access.

The fund is managed by the 溏心vlog免费B站 Foundation and administered by the Dean of Students Office. Those interested in contributing to the fund are encouraged to contact Sharon Pavignano at 溏心vlog免费B站 Foundation and Alumni Engagement at spavignano@uri.edu.

PHOTOS: NORA LEWIS