Confronting Food Insecurity

F O O D I N SE C U R ITY Confronting

Story by Amy Morris | Photos by Jack Royer | Design by Kayla Craig

Imagine not being able to concentrate in your classes because all you can think about is food. Yet, you don’t have the comfort that many other students have in knowing that they can go home and make a hot meal.

Many college students may face food insecurity, whether they talk about it openly or not. College has been known to come with a lot of different expenses, and often times some of these costs are prioritized higher than the need for food.

“There is a lot of pressure and expectation on college students. It is extremely hard to survive with what is expected of you and what is given to you,” says Kate Doughty, the sustainability and Wildcat Neighborhood Farm manager. “Oftentimes across the board decisions have to be made of ‘what am I buying today? Food or textbook… tuition and rent, or am I spending this money on food?’” The fear of not knowing where your next meal will come from can be a scary situation to find yourself faced with. With college tuition, living fees and other expenses it can be difficult for college students to have enough money left for food.

While many college students are scared of gaining the ‘Freshman 15’, other students worry about where they are getting their next meal. According to a survey done by researchers at Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab in 2018, 36% of university college students say they are food insecure.

Learning to Love PUSH There are many resources on campus that are intended to assist students who deal with food insecurity.

Presidents United to Solve Hunger (PUSH) has several pantries across campus for students to grab food from. Students can pick up items at any PUSH pantry location, which are open during building hours, according to PUSH’s website.

The PUSH pantries are typically stocked with items such as dry goods that students can take home, according to Doughty. The pantries also sometimes carry items that students can make on campus in a microwave, if they need a hot meal. Doughty adds that if a student doesn’t have somewhere to cook, there are a number of resources provided in these pantries.

Peyton Rondeau, junior Nutrition and Food Science major who has faced food insecurity, says that he is thankful for resources such as the PUSH pantries that help students in similar situations.

Dining services also has a partnership with PUSH that allows individuals who are not located on campus or in Ellensburg to donate to the Connection Card

program. Students can request emergency funds if they are in a jam and don’t have the immediate funds to support themselves and just need something to eat, according to Doughty.

“It is really hard to be a student,” Doughty says. “Students come here for an education and they come here to learn and grow and it is hard to do that if you aren’t able to feed yourself. Having [PUSH] on campus is important because it is the CWU community providing care for the students and that is really important.”

The Cycle of Financial Crisis CWU has discovered over the years that there is a big group of students that don’t have a safety net, according to Health Sciences Department Chair, Ethan Bergman. Especially when it comes to the end of the quarter or academic year and students start running out of funding, he adds. “[If a student] got sick … and can’t go to their job, their budget falls apart,” Bergman says. “They have to make choices so if we provide some access to food on campus then maybe that alleviates some of their concerns and allows them to eat and do whatever else is necessary to support their lives.” Within many public schools,

students K-12 have access to a free and reduced lunch program. These types of programs typically don’t exist at universities, including CWU, “but the same students who graduate from high school and come to a university are in those same financial constraints,” says Bergman.

A lot of students get good financial aid packages, which will hopefully cover their total cost of attendance including tuition, room and board and books, according to Bergman. However, this may not be the case for every student.

What happens with the students who don’t receive as much financial help is one bout of bad luck and their budget falls apart. One of the things that isn’t guaranteed is having a food source available.

The Insecurity Stigma There can also be a negative stigma attached to people who deal with food insecurity, which can make it hard for students to get the resources they need. Samantha Emch, a sophomore Cyber Security major, believes that many students deal with food insecurity, but are embarrassed of people finding out that they don’t have enough money.

“We are trying to go to school and most [of] our money goes towards school. We don’t think to put much of it towards food and that’s why we don’t eat the best,” Emch says. We buy “those simple, cheap meals that we can afford.” CWU believes that everyone should have access to healthy food, according to Bergman. Students being able to have access to healthy food is one of the reasons having discrete food pantries can be beneficial.

When a student is food insecure it can also affect their academic performance. Bergman explains that students have to be well nourished and healthy to excel in school, and a part of that is being able to think clearly.

“If they are malnourished, they are not going to learn very well, they are not going to do well [on] tests, they are not going to do well in class, and pretty soon they will no longer be able to continue their education,” Bergman adds. Plans are being made this

quarter to start getting grab-andgo foods from dining services which will be stored in two refrigerators; one will be located in Black Hall and the other in Purser Hall, explains Bergman.

“I know I talk to people who are not even on the university campus and tell them about this program and [they] say college students don’t have a problem with food insecurity,” Bergman says. “Well we know that’s not the case. Just making people aware that [food insecurity] is a problem on the university campus so they can look for ways to help out.”

If you are a student facing food insecurity, there are many resources available to you in the community. Whether you choose to confide in others or keep your struggles a secret, Rondeau explains that, “there is a stigma around food insecurity and needing help with basic needs; however, those that look down on it are not in your position. Don’t worry and get the help that you need.”

R e so u rc e S IN KITTITAS COUNTY

FISH Community Food Bank 804 Elmview Rd., Ellensburg, WA 98926 509-925-5990 HopeSource 700 E. Mountain View Ave. #501, Ellensburg, WA 98926 509-925-1448

Kittitas Neighborhood Pantry 319 N. Main St., Kittitas, WA 98934 APOYO Food Bank 1320 E. 18th Ave., Ellensburg, WA 98926 Psychology Building Nicholson Pavilion Student Government Office Bouillon Hall Shaw-Smyser Hall Purser Hall Black Hall Hogue Hall Farrell Hall Push Pa nt ry L o c a t i o n s Source: CWU PUSH