Would anyone show up? Or, would students succumb to fears of appearing cash-strapped rather than access the donated, non-perishable food and toiletries they needed? Did students even know about the pantry?
More than a dozen students shopped during the food bank’s first week, resulting in officials declaring the project an immediate success.
CSUSB is one of a growing number of higher education institutions nationwide that houses a food bank on campus in response to the prevalence of food insecurity among today’s student body. The trend coincides with ever-rising tuition hikes and increasing numbers of low-income college students everywhere. Also, countless families continue struggling financially because of effects from the Great Recession.
“It’s becoming more and more common for students to have to decide whether to buy textbooks or to buy food,” says Bryant Fairley, associate director for CSUSB’s Office of Community Engagement, which oversees the food bank. “Knowledge is food for the mind. Without food for the body, learning is impossible.”
Michigan State University is believed to be the first to establish a food pantry. By late 2008 — the year the recession took root — three other universities had launched their own, according to the Washington Post.
CSUSB opened its pantry at a time when, according to the Post, about 121 other campuses around the country were operating them. By December, 244 institutions were either running a pantry or poised to open one, according to the College and University Food Bank Alliance.
