No Student Goes Hungry!

On December 28, 2017 Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the 15^th proposal of the State of the State, titled “No Student Goes Hungry”. The five-point plan outlined by the Governor will work to fight hunger amongst students from kindergarten through college. The fifth point will require all SUNY and CUNY campuses to either provide food pantries on campus, or enable students to receive food through a separate arrangement that is stigma-free, such as a food bank. If the college decides to offer quality, affordable food through a separate arrangement, they must also provide delivery and distribution. To implement this program, which would help ensure consistent and healthy food options are available to all SUNY and CUNY students, the Governor proposes a $1 million state investment. While on-campus food pantries are not a new idea in the battle against food insecurity, this plan would make New York State the first to require every public campus to have a food pantry.

How prevalent is food insecurity on college campuses?

Some people may be wondering if the proposed $1 million budget would be better spent elsewhere, asking “how many college students are really struggling with food insecurity?”. The short answer is: a lot. According to a 2015 survey, 15% of CUNY students experience hunger at some point because they can’t afford to buy enough food. The 2016 report, Hunger on Campus, surveyed 3,765 students in 12 states attending eight community colleges and 26 four-year colleges and universities to find out how prevalent food insecurity is. They found that 48% of students surveyed reported food insecurity in the last 30 days. Hunger on Campus also found evidence that a lack of reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious food can harm students educational efforts. Amongst those students dealing with food insecurity, 55% reported not purchasing required textbooks because of it, 53% missed a class, and 25% dropped a class.

Are food pantries the answer?

There is no single solution to food insecurity, but providing a food pantry on campus can certainly help these struggling students. Many of these food insecure students are employed, enrolled in a campus meal plan, or receive some sort of financial aid or material help, and yet they still experience food insecurity. So providing food pantries on campus is a great way to help combat student hunger. In addition to being easy to establish, using on-campus food pantries is much easier for students than having to travel off campus to receive food benefits, and there is less stigma in using a student resource for help than a community program. New York isn’t the only state to recognize the potential benefits – between 2009 and 2017, campus food pantries grew from fewer than 10 to more than 570 nationwide. Hopefully other states will follow New York’s lead and require all public colleges set up student food banks to help fight food insecurity amongst our nations college students.

Sources:

1. https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/2018-stateofthestatebook.pdf
2. http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/03/pf/college/new-york-college-food-pantries/index.html
3. https://www.suny.edu/suny-news/press-releases/december-2017/12-28-17/gov-no-student-hungry.html?view=ada

CRDN 1.2 Apply evidence-based guidelines, systematic reviews and scientific literature. CRDN 1.4 Evaluate emerging research for application in nutrition and dietetics practice. CRDN 1.6 Incorporate critical-thinking skills in overall practice. CRDN 2.2 Demonstrate professional writing skills in preparing professional communications. CRDN 2.7 Apply leadership skills to achieve desired outcomes. CRDN 2.9 Participate in professional and community organizations. CRDN 2.14 Demonstrate advocacy on local, state or national legislative and regulatory issues or policies impacting the nutrition and dietetics profession. CRDN 3.3 Demonstrate effective communications skills for clinical and customer services in a variety of formats and settings. CRDN 3.8 Deliver respectful, science-based answers to client questions concerning emerging trends. Program Specific Competency 1 Assess results of research and evaluation used in nutritional sciences, and evaluate nutrition claims and popular literature for accuracy, reliability and practical implications.