The weeks are flying. We’re already basically a third of the way through the quarter, and as I read through the information I’ve gathered so far, I realized I needed to back up for a second. When addressing an issue, it’s important to be pretty well versed on the problem, right?

This week my readings and research focused on gaining information about the issue, while the events, meetings and outreached began to focus on making connections with people who are fighting the same fight.

Stepping Back; The Issue:

So it is sort of a given that food insecurity is an issue, not only among households nationally and globally, but specifically on college campuses. Why on college campuses, though? What makes students particularly susceptible?

This week I read Paying the Price, and explored the financial lives of students in the modern higher education system.

Paying the Price Book Cover

This issue of the affordability of higher education is something that strikes a chord in all of us college students. The financial burdens are rarely avoided by students today, even for young adults belonging to middle class families.

The current financial aid calculations are lacking in crucial truths, such as the rapidly increasing cost of living, the fact that most parents cannot afford to or refuse to pay the Pell Grant’s expected “family contribution”, a confusing and often daunting loan supplementation system to account for what is lacking in grants, and the fact that many students “from very low-income families [are] already making essential financial contributions to their family’s well-being.” (Goldrick-Rab 2016: 48)

Bottom line, while attending college continues to become more and more of a necessity for young adults to succeed in the job market, college prices continue to rise and the stagnant (if not decreasing) federal and state aid, such as the Pell Grant, continue to stretch thinner and thinner as more high school graduates enroll in public universities.

Because of this broken system, students who were once fed by their families are often forced to prioritize tuition, rent, and schools supplies over food, and students who once benefited from breakfast and lunch programs throughout their primary and secondary education are left in even more vulnerable financial circumstances once they enter college.

After what seemed like a citation scavenger hunt, I found the few academic studies there were measuring food insecurity on college campuses. (One of which, a case study in Hawaii, I had to request for interlibrary loan.)

Of 557 students at “a large, public university in the southeastern United States,” 20.02% experienced anxiety about food supply, and 14.06% experienced either low food security or very low food security. (Gaines, et. al. 2014: 379)

Out of 354 students at a “Midsize Rural University in Oregon,” 58.8% were food insecure, 75.7% of which received some form of financial aid. (Patton-Lopez, et. al. 2014)

The previous two studies show a food insecurity rate either at the same level or higher than the national average. Although I wasn’t able to access the Hawaii study, I did glean from the literature reviews of the other studies that at a university in Hawaii, the food insecurity rate was also higher than the national average, indicating that the issue of food insecurity is particularly exacerbated for the college student population.

“In light of trends in higher education cost and fiscal limitations, student food insecurity is a problem that is likely to grow in prevalence as costs continue to surpass available grant and loan support.” (Gaines, Robb, C. A., Knol, L. L., Sickler 2014: 383)

Moving Forward:

In light of these depressing findings, I have found motivation, inspiration, and a plan of action through my other activities this week.

Katie Garth #noDAPL found on Justseeds

Being bogged down with books, documentaries, and studies, it was cathartic and refreshing to be privy to some relevant artistic expression this week. At the Water Is Life panel, a native student shared some of his grievances through poems of his struggles as a Native American young man, and the exploitation of our natural waterways and commodification of native lands. Later in the week, I caught the last bit of the Bangladeshi poet’s political orations on the second floor of the library. The lines “cash, cash, cash, cash” resonating in my mind as I read of college costs and bottom lines.

During the Food Systems Working Group meeting on Wednesday I was introduced to Casey Leland, the director of the Campus Childcare Center, who is forming a working group of her own in the hopes of addressing homelessness and hunger on campus. I’ve emailed her, and hopefully she will be a wonderful collaborator on this issue.

Luke Thomas Cultivate Resistance found on Justseeds

Outside the realm of campus, attending the Messaging Working Group for the South Sound Food System Network’s educational outreach campaign was not only a way for me to connect with professionals in the area, but an opportunity to give a voice to the concerns of the population of students affected by local food systems. Plans to educate lower-income families of the South Sound region about how they can eat healthfully and locally on a budget, as well as talk of cooking and financial literacy education made me excited and eager to continue to do all I can to contribute to the community that supports and surrounds Evergreen.
Clearly there have been many moving parts to my learning, and some days I feel like a chicken with my head cut off. But in these three short weeks I have already learned so much, and I am ready to continue learning and acting in a wholesome and meaningful way.