Food Insecurity: Parallels from College to Community
During the holiday season, everyone is thinking about food! Food can hold so many happy memories and family connections, but it can also be a challenging topic to discuss for those navigating complex relationships with food.
By Justina Thompson — December 12, 2022
In the thick of the holiday season, everyone is thinking about food! Food can hold so many happy memories and family connections, but it can also be a challenging topic to discuss for those navigating complex relationships with food. For some, having consistent access to food is a struggle; unfortunately, this is not an issue that disappears once someone enrolls in college! Food Insecurity refers to the state in which a person or people cannot guarantee where their next meal will come from. In its complexities, it also refers to a lack of access to healthy foods, which are fresh, nutrient-dense, and organic, for starters. Access to food that nourishes and sustains our bodies is a right for all, regardless of socioeconomic factors. Still, the systems around us do not always protect and defend that right.
On a larger scale, food insecurity is a result or product of food apartheid. This is a term coined by Karen Washington, a farming elder and community mentor, as a counter to the use of 'food desert'. The term desert implies that these inequities of food access naturally occur when it is a product of many intentionally harmful systems that protect some and deem others as disposable. One example of this system is redlining, which is a discriminatory practice that classified neighborhoods on a scale from 'desirable' to 'hazardous,' with neighborhoods defined as hazardous often being those with mostly minority and low-income residents.
Redlining directly impacted how loans were distributed for home and business owners, and these financial institutions tried their best to keep neighborhoods socioeconomically homogenous. Although these physical maps were created in the 1930s, their impacts today are vivid, especially when we think about access to food. Which neighborhoods have farmers' markets and ample grocery stores vs. those with only corner stores and a seasonal produce stand?
This concept of disposability continues once a student steps onto a college campus. Academic Institutions bring revenue from students and their families through tuition, housing, and meal costs. Those who receive financial aid support their academic journeys with tuition assistance, but meal costs are rarely covered, or meal stipends are offered for students. Even when I took on the role as a Resident Assistant to try and offset college costs, while my housing was covered, I was still expected to be on a very expensive meal plan. (More to come on the admin connections you can use to navigate financial hardship while in school!)
Other students who may pick up part-time work while doing school, which is a hefty balance on its own, may even have to choose between their additional income going to a roof over their head and a warm meal in their stomachs. These are realities that many students stay silent about because they don't want to be embarrassed or feel like a burden to their friend groups. I wish we were more comfortable having these conversations because it could have saved so many of my friends from dropping out of school. The important questions for reflection are: how should our institutions protect all students regarding basic rights such as food?
It may feel impossible to be revolutionary at times. Still, it's okay for us to imagine dining halls where no one has to swipe or pay to enter, where the food options are all local, healthy, and meet everyone's dietary restrictions, and where folks can bond over meals that have meaning to them.
And where we can't see an immediate change in institutional structure, we can create small pockets of hope.
Unfortunately, when thinking through these complex topics, it can be easy to get down by all of the harm done over the past decades. Imagining ourselves into a better tomorrow is an accomplishment and a gift. With the right tools, it can be easy too. Starting with one administrator or campus office is a lower-stakes way to see change on campus. For example, if you are already involved with a student club or organization with a budget, have you tried to build a line item for food? This is a way to not only increase attendance at meetings and events, but it can be a core resource for your membership as well! For virtual gatherings, you can even explore digital food vouchers through apps like Uber Eats to ensure folks are fed!
For in-person gatherings, if you have individually wrapped items left over, try bringing them to a public place on campus where many students may pass through. Let your friends know through a group chat! A key point to understand about food insecurity is that there is more than enough food to feed everyone. The channels of distribution and access are where inequity thrives. If you have extra, let someone know and share it with them!
Beyond club meetings, dorms and student support offices are great places to share these resources. While it might not be great for prepared foods and perishable items, having a collective place where students can find canned and dried goods at their leisure is a great foundation for these better systems we want to see around food. Maintaining these resources in publicly accessible spaces also reaffirms that everyone has the right to be fed and nourished. At the same time, campus administrators — such as a Dean of Students or a Class Dean — can advocate for students by working with Dining Services. This partnership can help secure food vouchers and let students know if they ever fall into a time of need, there are resources available for help. As students and young people grow into adulthood, asking for help can be difficult, but knowing what resources you can start with reduces that barrier just a bit.
If you're interested in other community-based solutions to food security that you can even draw inspiration from for your campus, the next great stop for exploration is community fridges! Dive into how infrastructure meets community ingenuity to make sure everyone has enough.
Check out these resources below for context on some of the ideas and concepts mentioned above:
'How to Start A Community Fridge'
'What is Redlining?' 'Karen Washington on Food Apartheid and her work in Urban Agriculture'
Justina Thompson
Justina "Farmer J" Thompson is the Farm Education and Volunteer Manager at Urban Creators, Philadelphia, PA. Justina intentionally attended school in Philadelphia so she could “connect her passion and experience to the ongoing environmental justice work in the area.” As a speaker, educational curriculum designer, program leader, and community organizer, Justina possesses extensive knowledge on urban farming inspired to work in the field of environmental justice from a young age.
Maximizing Mentorship
April 30, 2024
The Rise of College eSports
April 29, 2024
