Remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?
Dear Leading Ladies,
At the risk of being redundant, this week we are revisiting the subject of food insecurity on college campuses. As you know, we co-hosted a screening of the documentary, “Hungry to Learn,” at The Cabot in Beverly last Wednesday, followed by a discussion with Ann Ciaraldi, associate dean of student affairs at UMass Lowell, and Kathleen O’Neill, director of Single Stop at Bunker Hill Community College. Both women provide support at their colleges for students confronting food insecurity. The conversation expanded our knowledge and understanding of the problem and how we might take action to solve it.
Leading Ladies logo on the marquee of the Cabot Theater
Ciarldi and O’Neill emphasized the incredible strength, grit, and resolve it takes for students with food insecurity to persist in their quest to achieve a college education and a better future for themselves. To go through a whole day of classes and nighttime of studying sustained by only a slice of bread, sometimes day after day, sounds horrific yet also worthy of our respect and awe. To have to choose between buying books or eating lunch, between feeding a child or buying medication for a sick parent and having dinner – not just once in a while but every day – takes its toll. Our two guests reminded us several times of the courage and tenacity of the students they meet who confront extraordinary challenges on a daily basis, and of the emotional and mental price these situations extract.
A quick review
As many of you will recall from our past letter, in fall 2020, 34% of college students experienced food insecurity 30 days prior to the Hope Center survey, with students who had Covid-19 being 1.7 times more likely to experience food insecurity than those not infected. The rates of food insecurity are higher in community and state colleges and universities than in private institutions, and among Black and Latino students than among white students.
More food for thought
Although food insecurity has always existed on college campuses, data have only been available in the last ten or so years. Indeed, the problem has also increased as the profile of college students has altered to include a far more diverse population: older, less affluent, more likely to have children themselves. Also, the costs of college have increased and more professions now require some sort of post-high school accreditation or degree.
Food insecurity is a major equity issue. Hungry people can’t study adequately or efficiently; are more likely to drop out; and will still have crippling loans without a degree if they leave school for low-paying jobs.
There is a stigma related to food insecurity which keeps students from seeking help and also discourages institutions from acknowledging that they have students who are hungry.
Food banks and pantries address the issue but do not solve the problem or tackle the causes. That will take an in-depth consideration of how financial aid is determined, allocated, and administered; an analysis of the entire business of higher education with its competition over luxury campuses; and a reckoning with the reality of who today’s students are.
What can we do
Find out if your alma mater has a program to support students who suffer from food insecurity. If not, encourage them to establish one and designate your alumni gift to support students with housing and food insecurity.
Write to your legislators to encourage them to support programs that guarantee food to students of all ages, not just elementary and high school students. Massachusetts Bills H1368 and S822 will establish a state hunger-free campus initiative.
Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts is a strong advocate of ending hunger on college campuses. Watch this video from the head of the House Rules Committee with Sara Goldrick-Rab. Pass it on.
Join the call-to-action Zoom event, “Helping Students Succeed & Graduate: The MA Hunger-Free Campus Initiative,” on September 28 at 1 pm EST. Speakers include Molly Kepner (Greater Boston Food Bank), Laura Sylvestre (Western Food Bank of MA), and Pat Baker (Mass Law Reform). Zoom link is here.
If you or someone you know was food insecure as a student, speak out and urge others to say that they were helped by food stamps or a food pantry. Public statements will help remove the stigma and encourage others to come forward and ask for assistance.
Support local food banks and pantries that work with local colleges and universities. For example, The Salem Pantry partners with Salem State University to provide a weekly pop-up pantry for students. Click here for information about donating or volunteering.
September is Hunger Action Month. Learn more here.
Talk about what you know so that others can understand the reality of food insecurity among college students. Learn more at https://www.bhcc.edu/voh/; https://hope4college.com/realcollege/; and https://www.feedingamerica.org/research/college-hunger-research
One of the primary concerns of Leading Ladies is equal access to health care, including women’s rights to reproductive decisions over their own bodies. We are appalled by the recent Texas law against abortion and vigilante legislation which pays a bounty to citizens for turning in their neighbors for any aid they may provide to those seeking abortions – even a ride in a taxi. For a great overview of the Texas law against abortion, read this NYT article. Women are mobilizing nationally to march on October 2 to defend reproductive rights in advance of the Supreme Court reconvening to hear another challenge to Roe v. Wade. We will keep you informed as we learn more about plans to march in Boston and other locations. For now, you can read more at womensmarch.com and pledge to march.
Stay healthy and safe. And, of course, feed your hope.
Therese
Judy
Mary
Beth
Leading Ladies Executive Team
Leadingladiesvote.org
ladies@leadingladiesvote.org