UT institutions are addressing the crippling challenge of hunger on campus

AUSTIN — Learning is difficult – often impossible – when you are hungry.

This is something that public school teachers know all too well, particularly in economically disadvantaged communities. The problem is so critical, and so perennial, that federal leaders created the National School Lunch Program 70 years ago to ensure that needy children in America’s public schools get at least one meal a day.

But it may surprise some to learn that hunger is not a problem reserved for the youngest of students. Food insecurity is far more widespread among college and university students than most people realize.

Many of those in need have jobs and financial aid — even meal plans — yet still often go hungry. A new national report found that 48 percent of college students surveyed reported experiencing food insecurity in the past month, including 22 percent with very low levels of food security that qualify them as hungry. The report — Hunger on Campus — also found that food insecurity was more prevalent among students of color and that more than half of all first-generation students (56 percent) were food insecure.

“College is a stressful time and I think most people can appreciate that students may be worrying about paying tuition or keeping up with their coursework. It will likely come as shock to many to realize that persistent hunger is a very real problem for many students,” said Wanda Mercer, Ph.D., associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at The University of Texas System. “Thankfully, colleges and universities are no longer only for the privileged. And while we are providing more and more access to higher education for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, we have to ensure basic needs are being met so they can not only survive, but earn their degree and thrive.”

At UT System institutions, campus leaders are combatting hunger issues with a variety of innovative approaches.

Loretta Pequeno-Griffin, director of UT Arlington’s Leadership Center said she discovered food insecurity was a concern for UTA students through the Leadership Center’s volunteer relationship with local agencies, like Mission Arlington.

“We came to realize that UTA students have been using services like Mission Arlington and other local nonprofits to provide meals for them,” Pequeno-Griffin said. “Giving back to our community and helping those in need is a core part of the Leadership Center’s mission, and discovering some of our own students were among those in need was sobering. We knew we needed to not only address the problem, but find a way to determine how widespread it truly is.”

The Leadership Center was able to secure a grant to open a food pantry, which will be available to students beginning next semester. They hope to use the pantry not only to provide food to students in need, but also to track the severity of the need and demographic information of students who use the pantry to inform future intervention efforts.

UT Rio Grande Valley operates a food pantry available to currently enrolled students experiencing hunger or food insecurity. Students can enroll online or drop by the pantry during distribution hours.

At UT System institutions, campus leaders are combatting hunger issues with a variety of innovative approaches.

"There have been times when I have not been able to afford a meal. The support I have received from the UTRGV Student Food Pantry has been key to helping me stay focused on my studies and become an active student leader,” said Alexia Uribe, a junior at UTRGV majoring in biology. “It definitely provided me a healthy path to stay in school."

Rebecca K. Gadson, UTRGV’s interim dean of students, said efforts go beyond the food pantry.

"We have trained several of our student support staff and food pantry attendants as certified YourTexasbenefits.com navigators. The trained navigators are able to help individuals apply for and manage Texas Health and Human Services Commission benefits such as Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, Lower Income Heating Electrical Assistance Program, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and others," Gadson said. "Sometimes our students or their families need access to additional support systems to reduce hunger insecurity or other unmet needs."

Gadson said her department also partners annually with UTRGV’s School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Science to host a Food Insecurity Forum. The spring 2016 theme was Hunger and Resilient Food Systems in the Rio Grande Valley.

UT Dallas established its Comet Cupboard  four years ago after representatives with the Office of Undergraduate Education realized the scope of need at the university. About 300 students use the cupboard each semester, picking up everything from nonperishable food to personal care items.

UT Health Science Center San Antonio’s Institute for Health Promotion Research is going beyond the confines of the campus and helping combat hunger and promote good nutrition across the country. The Institute’s Dr. Amelie Ramirez leads Salud America!, a nonprofit launched nearly a decade ago that develops multimedia communications to educate and motivate kids, parents, teachers and community leaders around the nation to reduce Latino childhood obesity and build a culture of health. Recent studies have shown a relationship between food insecurity and obesity, illuminating that both are consequences of economic and social disadvantage.

As part of Chancellor William H. McRaven’s Quantum Leaps, the UT System is focused on improving student success, and that entails eliminating barriers that could prevent a student from finishing his or her degree. Experts say food insecurity is one of the by-products of poverty that can sink a student’s best efforts, even when tuition is paid for.

It's an educational attainment issue, and it's a moral issue, and we owe it to our students to address it.

Of the food insecure students surveyed in the study, 32 percent said problems with food or housing has impacted their education. They reported everything from forgoing the purchase of a required textbook to dropping a class.

"There are many barriers to student success in higher education and we work hard to remove them. Food insecurity has moved from the shadows to one that is visible and takes a real toll on all too many of our students,” said Rebecca Karoff, Ph.D., associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, who leads efforts on the Student Success Quantum Leap. “It's an educational attainment issue, and it's a moral issue, and we owe it to our students to address it."

For more information about how UT System institutions are addressing food insecurity issues, contact the UT System’s Office of Media Relations.

About The University of Texas System

Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking basic, applied and clinical research, and serving the needs of Texans and the nation for more than 130 years, The University of Texas System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States. With 14 institutions and an enrollment of more than 221,000, the UT System confers more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees, educates almost two-thirds of the state’s health care professionals annually and accounts for almost 70 percent of all research funds awarded to public institutions in Texas. The UT System’s operating budget for FY 2017 is $17.9 billion, including $3 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With more than 20,000 faculty – including Nobel laureates and many members of the National Academies – and nearly 80,000 health care professionals, researchers, student advisors and support staff, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.