Lehigh Times

A reported 30% of college students across the nation battle food insecurity, which First Lady Frances Wolf thinks is unacceptable and needs to be addressed.

This week Wolf was joined at the state capitol with Senate Democratic Appropriations Chairman Vincent Hughes, Senator Carolyn Comitta, House Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton and Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, as well as about 100 college students and administrators to discuss hunger among college students and call for action to address the issue, according to a March 29 release. Gov. Tom Wolf has a budget proposal for 2022-23 that includes $1 million toward a grant program to help Pennsylvania colleges with this problem.

“College should not be a privilege reserved for individuals with disposable incomes, and hunger should never be what holds someone back from succeeding in higher education,” said First Lady Wolf. “And yet, national studies estimate that over 30 percent of college students are food insecure. We must do all we can to support our students as they pursue futures that can benefit all of Pennsylvania.” 

The program proposed by Wolf is still being formulated, but is inspired by the Hunger Free Campus bills proposed in recent years by Sen. Comitta and Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta. 

“No student should have to go hungry to pursue the dream of higher education and career success. Studies and firsthand stories tell us that food and basic needs insecurity is a growing program on college campuses. Common sense tells us it’s a solvable one. And we’re working to take steps to solve it in Pennsylvania,” Sen. Comitta said. “I thank the First Lady for her commitment to ending hunger on campus, Governor Wolf for supporting the Hunger-Free Campus Initiative in his budget plan, and our students and anti-hunger organizations for their ongoing advocacy efforts.” 

The program would help schools create and expand food pantries on campus, while also hiring social workers to assist students, improve data efforts and make clear what resources are available. About 36% of students know someone who has dropped out due to food insecurity during the pandemic, and 52% never asked for assistance in 2020 because they didn’t know it was available.

“There is growing awareness at Penn State and on other college campuses of the significant impediment to student success caused by food insecurity,” said Pennsylvania State University’s Vice President of Student Affairs Damon Sims. A student who lacks access to sufficient and healthy food simply cannot learn and participate as they otherwise would.”

Penn State campuses have food pantries on their campuses and most campuses offer food distribution services and campus community gardens. Penn State President Eric Barron and First Lady Molly Barron also recently created a food security endowment aimed at purchasing meal plans for undergraduate Penn State students with food insecurity. It was reported in the release that many students coming out of high school relied on free or reduced meals through their education, which is not offered at the college. 

"Food insecurity on college campuses has been a problem for decades, and Pennsylvania is overdue in addressing this,” said Rep. O’Mara. “Students cannot thrive and reach their full potential if their basic needs are not being met."

In attendance at the state capitol were 100 students representing national non-profit Swipe Out Hunger. This included students from Bloomsburg University, Carnegie Mellon University, Community College of Allegheny County, California University of Pennsylvania, DeSales University, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Millersville University, Point Park University, Prism Career Institute, Robert Morris University, Temple University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Pennsylvania, West Chester University, Widener University and Wilson College. The organization works with leaders on legislation and policies, as well as ensuring student have access to meals. The organization represents 400 colleges in each state, and has served 2.5 million meals.

“It speaks volumes to have the First Lady support our coalition of more than 100 college students across Pennsylvania and other community partners to address student food insecurity through the Hunger Free Campus Bill,” said Rachel Sumekh, founder and CEO of Swipe Out Hunger. “We’re thrilled to galvanize and organize together to ensure no student has to choose between food and their education.”