Are you getting enough food? Can you afford to?
I can’t, and a lot of people I talk to on a daily basis can’t either. For context, I am someone who lives in dire financial circumstances due to health conditions that limit my ability to make enough money to get by.
I’ve written before about my dependence on SNAP and the importance of those benefits back when the program was facing challenges during the government shutdown at the time. For a brief moment, there were thousands of Americans who weren’t able to receive their benefits for that month and were left uncertain about how they were going to feed their families.
Although benefits were finally given, and SNAP is back up and running, it’s important we continue to have an honest conversation about food insecurity because it is not going away any time soon. In fact, it is becoming a silent crisis.
Not only am I witnessing the effects and experiencing them myself every day, but I can see it through reports and surveys from The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs, based in the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. Their research is focused on the lived experiences of college students. The center’s Basic Needs Survey, which officially began in spring 2023, covers issues such as basic needs insecurity, affordability and barriers that exist between students and access to campus resources.
According to the survey, which was held between spring 2023 and summer 2024, “Among 74,350 survey participants, we found that 59% of students experience at least one form of basic needs insecurity related to food or housing.” Food insecurity was recorded to be at 41%, 48% for housing insecurity and 14% for homelessness.
This data comes from 91 institutions across 16 states. The study also revealed that among the most affected by these insecurities were Black and Indigenous students, as well as students with disabilities.
It may seem as though college students have no issue buying the things they need to live. The reality is that you can still be low-income and attend college, and these low-income students are the ones who might struggle the most with affording food.
The cost of food itself has been rapidly rising at a rate that is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with. I feel that simply talking to and asking the people you come across at the grocery store, or overhearing these conversations about difficulty buying basic food, tells a lot about how the economy is actually doing.
It’s easy to look at stock market prices and numbers that our government pushes out to try to convince us that everything is going well, but none of that matters if everyday, normal, working people can’t afford their basic needs.
As for students, in my discussions around campus I have gathered that many are either unable to afford consistent food or are barely able to eat enough food in a given day. My focus is on the affordability and access to full meals throughout the day. A meal can look different for everyone, but to me, a meal is when you are able to eat enough food to where your stomach feels full and you feel better afterward.
I think the ‘three meals a day’ average is important, but of course it’s different for everyone. Not only that, but snacks to refuel throughout the day are just as important. However, are any of us truly able to meet those goals? For a lot of us, myself included, we are lucky to have at least one whole meal a day, with some snacking in place of the other meals.
Food insecure students who are in between classes and need a quick bite to get through the day deserve to have options, and a can of chili or a little container of applesauce is not enough. We aren’t peasants; we’re hard-working people who deserve enough food to function and thrive. Living off rice-slop meals, spaghetti and canned soup feels degrading, too. Food is
not only a tool for survival, it’s supposed to be an enjoyable experience and something to find pleasure in. We deserve more and should be able to experience more with our food.
I spoke to Heather Starr-Fiedler, who runs the Pioneer Pantry, to check in with how things have been going since the last time we spoke.
The pantry has a steady number of students who use it. Though use tends lower in the spring, I don’t think this is necessarily an indicator that students aren’t struggling. There is still a sense of shame that a lot of low income students face that I feel prevents them from reaching out for help.
Being poor can feel humiliating, but that’s only because of social stigma. There is no shame in needing help, and this is something I especially want food insecure students to know. Starr-Fiedler is someone who is more than willing to help students, with no judgement at all.
When asked if Point Park is truly suited to handle a hunger crisis, Starr-Fiedler said, “I don’t think the Pioneer Pantry alone could really handle a hunger crisis. We do have a wonderful partnership with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and would turn to them in a time of need like a hunger crisis.”
We also discussed the potential for Point Park to do more for hungry low-income students, to which Starr-Fiedler said, “I think the idea of a subsidized food plan for low-income students would be wonderful. I’m also trying to implement a meal swipe donation system so students who have leftover meal swipes could donate them back to be used by students in need.”
This idea could prove to be beneficial if implemented, as it allows low-income students to have a way to eat on campus without sacrificing so much of their own money. I hope to see some changes in policy that allow for qualifying low-income students to be fed, though in the end I truly just want everyone to be able to face less stress about food affordability in general.
Food banks and campus pantries are an amazing resource, but these are bandaid solutions on top of gaping systemic wounds that need to change at the federal level.
As the cost of living rises and economic devastation grips the nation, I feel that college campuses have a responsibility to step in and help their most vulnerable students. Our country can afford to feed the poor. We have more than enough resources to do so, but our government has shown a distinct lack of care for anyone under a certain income bracket. This is why we need more community organizing and engagement, and we need to continue to be angry and hold those in power accountable.
