The Problem: Hungry students are too ashamed to ask for help

 

The Solution: Make the process confidential

It’s a simple approach: patrons visit the Financial Services Office, where they discretely apply for food assistance, student loans, or scholarships. After a quick approval process concludes, a staff member rushes upstairs to retrieve the groceries, delivered to the student in unmarked grocery bags.

“We did this because we feel like it is a stigma reducing strategy,” Says Dr. Michael Baston, Vice President of Student Affairs. “Because we want students to feel like whatever the resource they need to sustain themselves, that would be available to them.”

Get Involved

Send this idea to your university’s food pantry.

You can also send them a copy of the most recent Hunger in America report, which illustrates the extent of food insecurity among U.S. college students. Thank them for their work.