{"id":5133,"date":"2019-05-03T01:54:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-02T18:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/studentmedia\/?p=5133"},"modified":"2020-11-06T01:23:45","modified_gmt":"2020-11-05T18:23:45","slug":"the-meal-gap-food-insecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/the-meal-gap-food-insecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"The Meal Gap: Food Insecurity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Story and photos – Marissa Greene<\/span><\/p>\n

ACC students and student life members shed light on the silent issue of food insecurity amongst the school. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Have you ever tried focusing in a class while your stomach was rumbling? 20-30% of students in the United States have reported eating less due to food insecurity. For 22-year-old ACC student, Damienn Alcala, this is more than just a statistic; it\u2019s a reality. Making the choice between paying for books, tuition, and transportation, housing can often appear more vital for students than a month\u2019s \u00a0worth of groceries. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCollege is so expensive, and it\u2019s an investment,\u201d Alcala said. \u201cThe average college debt is $37,123, so where does that leave money for students to buy their own groceries?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He isn\u2019t alone. According to an ACC financial study done in 2018, 34% of students reported having food insecurity, while 61% were worried that they won\u2019t have enough money to pay for school. About half of that number was said to run out of money at least three times in the year prior. <\/span><\/p>\n

Food insecurity is when someone able to afford a suitable amount of nutritious food. This can cause a practice of skipping meals and\/or sacrificing food quality leading to unhealthy options that don\u2019t provide the basic nutrients needed for a college student.<\/span><\/p>\n

The gravity of food insecurity amongst students is often compared to issues such as homelessness, or not having enough funds to pay for education such as tuition and books. Similar to these struggles, food insecurity is not always easy to identify. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes you can\u2019t even tell,\u201d Student Life coordinator Jennifer Flowers said. \u201cFood insecurity does not look like anything, and it does not discriminate.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Flowers, who has been a part of Student Life for 14 years, oversees the food pantries located in the student life lounge of each ACC campus. At these food pantries, students who face food insecurity have the ability to get canned goods and other non-perishable items without a dollar sign associated with it.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2018, Flowers was asked to take on a project. At the beginning of October, ACC student life created a partnership with Central Texas Food Bank in order to encourage food distribution for ACC students on the first Friday of every month. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI looked up the logistics of how the setup would be and as I started to immerse myself more by reading articles and percentages of food insecurity,\u201d Flowers said. \u201cIt really did open up my eyes.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Before the food distribution event, Flowers didn\u2019t realize that food insecurity existed. Not only are many non-college students unaware of this prevalent issue, but also the students themselves. Alcala states that he found out about student life and through word of mouth.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI bring others [to student life] as well they\u2019re like, \u2018I never knew about this!\u2019 Alcala said. \u201cIt\u2019s surprising how many students aren\u2019t aware of their opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alcala believes that in order to combat these daily challenges, students must first get the conversation started about food insecurity. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen talking to students even more, when they use the food pantry, when we wheel in the carts of food at the food distribution, the students are thankful that they don\u2019t have to worry about groceries for that months,\u201d Flowers said. \u201cThis is something that is just not talked about at all. Once you start talking about it and you\u2019re in it, you get it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike the food pantry, food distribution provides a greater variety of groceries. On the first Friday of every month starting at 9 a.m., students are able to walk into the student life lounge at the Riverside Campus and receive a ticket. That ticket will tell them when to come out into the parking lot, where they are greeted by volunteers, reusable bags, and a line of tables with an abundance of food choices. <\/span><\/p>\n

As the student walks through the line, \u00a0they receive two reusable bags for their items and can pick anywhere from chicken, canned goods, fresh produce, and even bread. After their selections, these students are able to receive assistance carrying these groceries back to their car or the bus stop.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In the 2017-2018 school year, 960 students were served by the SL food pantry, along with 700 pounds of donated food. In just this fall semester for the 2018-2019 school year, SL food pantry and food distribution served over one thousand students. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0With all that the food pantry and distribution has to offer, Flowers recognizes how these ways to combat food insecurity also creates a bond between students in the community.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is when conversations start to open up about their own struggles,\u201d Flowers said. \u201cEvery single staff member in our department is all about student success.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Flowers hopes that talking about food insecurity causes all departments of ACC to want to get to know their students more beyond the ACCeID. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of the Student Life staff members you might meet at the food distribution is Carrie Cooper. She also stresses the importance of students who are food secure to volunteer. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the main thing I look forward to every month,\u201d \u00a0Cooper said. \u201cVolunteering makes you feel like you are a part of something bigger than yourself, and is also a way to give back to your school.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

For students like Alcala, these statistics are more than just a couple of numbers; it is their life.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor someone who is like me, just know that it’s okay, that is why we are here at ACC,\u201d Alcala said. \u201cTo come together and say, \u2018Hey, we don\u2019t have that much money, but we have each other to help out.\u2019 That\u2019s what I feel is the real message of ACC.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are someone you know could benefit from the Student Life food pantry or monthly food distribution, visit your campus\u2019 Student Life lounge to learn more, or visit austincc.edu\/slfoodpantry@austincc.edu<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Story and photos – Marissa Greene ACC students and student life members shed light on the silent issue of food insecurity amongst the school. Have you ever tried focusing in a class while your stomach was rumbling? 20-30% of students in the United States have reported eating less due to food insecurity. For 22-year-old ACC […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4103,"featured_media":5134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}