On average, nearly one in ten families in Virginia experience a real challenge in putting food on the table. But food insecurity may be even more prevalent among college students. WMRA’s Ayse Pirge reports.
Nearly one of every four American college students experienced food insecurity in 2020. That’s about 3.8 million students, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, or GAO. And most college campuses in the Commonwealth, including the University of Virginia, are confronting a growing hunger need among students.
Cary Jalali is a second-year student at UVa. She’s the volunteer coordinator at the UVa Community Food Pantry, and she says they’ve had a massive increase in demand this school year.
CARY JALALI: We had already a couple emails from people asking like, about, hey are you still doing restocks, like during finals and we’re like oh yeah, we’ve had three this week. And people are like, oh, like because I think things are just going by like crazy.
Broadly speaking, people facing food insecurity may have insufficient or uncertain access to food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture tracks low or very low levels of food security, and in 2020, a majority of food insecure students had very low food security.
While some students may be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, they must meet certain requirements. This includes working a minimum of 20 hours weekly at a paid job. And here’s the problem: The GAO estimates fewer than two in five food insecure students actually meet that criteria.
Jalali says that the demand at UVa is a combination of both increased need and increased awareness about the pantry.
JALALI: ...We also know that we’re not capturing all of that need, like through our data. We’re missing a certain amount that doesn’t meet the national standards, so we know that there’s more people that we could be helping, that like maybe don’t know about us.
Health assessment surveys conducted by the UVa Office of Health Promotion in 2019 and 2020 found that one-quarter to one-third of students experienced food insecurity in the previous 30 days. And the problem goes beyond hunger. Food insecurity is also linked to a lower graduation rate for college students.
The Pantry at James Madison University has also seen an increase in demand. WMRA spoke with Jeremy Hawkins, the Assistant Director of JMU’s Off-Campus Life. He says there’s a 100% increase in students served compared to last year, which he says could also be due in part to increased awareness, in addition to increased need. But a 2023 survey by JMU’s Student Support Hub found that around 38% of respondents faced food insecurity.
UVa’s Jalali says the pantry there respects the anonymity of student patrons. The pantry is open to UVa students as well as staff. She says that, while the pantry does have some limits on snack items -- they go the quickest -- otherwise, patrons can take as much as they want. And, the goal is for food to be accessible.
JALALI: ...We try to make sure that cans can be opened easily, like stuff we usually have like fresh produce too, like deli meat. We kind of try to provide enough that’s like the basics.
The pantry is also working with UVa Dining to reapportion food into single to-go meals. And Jalali says the pantry also provided Thanksgiving meal kits last year in partnership with Student Council. The pantry also has a list of resources they can direct students to when they need it.
JALALI: ...I know like our nearest grocery store is like a little over a mile away, so that’s pretty hard to get to if you don’t have a car and like there is a bus but it’s still like a, definitely a challenge more than something that’s really close by. Especially when people are so busy already.
Jalali says the pantry has been pretty successful in meeting demand, but funding is an issue.
JALALI: ... We’re not like a student organization, we’re like a part of UVa. So, like we have a student side and then we work with Care and Student Support Services, who work together to make the pantry run. And I think other pantries like I know the JMU pantry people have come sometimes like look in and see what we’re doing.
She says that at a major university with such wealth, it can be hard to recognize that there is a significant food insecurity problem among students.
JALALI: ... Nobody wants to see a student suffer from food insecurity again, it’s just heartbreaking to know that like students are going hungry when you know they should be focusing on their studies, not where their next meal is coming from.
Jalali says she’s glad that the pantry at UVa is there to help students, but there’s more they can do to help those who need support.
