How higher institutions address food insecurity among students in Boston

When Visual Media Arts student Dellin Zhang moved into her first college apartment, she was excited to have a grocery store just around the corner. But then she saw the total at checkout. 

“When you’re living in a city, you kind of have to just deal with walking with all of your groceries,” she explained, emphasizing the lack of food shopping choices near her. “Whole Foods is really expensive, though.”

Upon hearing about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from a friend, Zhang applied for aid not knowing she was even eligible for its benefits. The application process dragged on long enough to make eligibility requirements and requested documents confusing for her, only for her application to get rejected due to expiration. 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the largest federal assistance nutrition program that provides benefits to eligible low-income households, is a food resource available to students that many don’t realize they qualify for. 

Because food insecurity and food assistance resources rely on the outreach of those who are in need, many college food pantries and student assistance programs are unable to account for the magnitude of food insecurity in their communities. This leaves Zhang and other students facing food insecurity without direction to organizations that can provide aid.

“I had a budget, but then I went so over budget because I kept needing food. I kept finding that I needed more things to make a complete meal,” said Zhang. She went $100 over budget this past January, which prompted her to apply for SNAP again. 

This time around, a SNAP case manager called asking questions about income and employment, requesting fewer documents at a quicker rate, and Zhang was finally approved. 


“Now with EBT, I keep groceries out of my budgeting and just make sure I don’t overspend whatever my monthly allowance is for groceries. It’s a generous amount though so there’s definitely no stress,” Zhang shared. “When I’m running late or need a quick meal, I feel comfortable buying a pre-packaged meal from Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s which I know is nutritious and healthy, so it saves me time and stress.”

While SNAP does provide direct credit for groceries, it isn’t the only aid to food insecurity. Christopher Grant, Director in the Office of Student Success, Access, and Belonging at Emerson College, spoke on the school’s food pantry, which launched in 2016.

“The Office of Student Success was created as a space to talk about retention and to find out why students may be leaving: was there a way to step in? Were there resources you weren't receiving from the institution? How can we help?” Grant shared. 

About ten students visit the pantry per week, 80% of them being regulars. Anyone who is new is usually a referral from another student. 

“When you hear things like ‘food pantry’ there is an automatic stigma that comes with it,” said Grant. “We try to destigmatize this resource and food insecurity as a term in general, but students do find it a little more trustworthy when you hear from another student who's like, ‘oh yeah, you can stop by there, they have some items there that might be useful for you,’ which we appreciate.”

Since reporting on this story, Emerson College’s Office of Student Success has made an effort to send out a survey about food insecurity. The survey prompts students to answer questions about how often they skipped a meal to save money, whether they benefit from or know about SNAP, and how the college can better address and combat food insecurity. The office has also made an effort to make free meal swipes more accessible to off-campus students. 


Food pantry services vary from institution to institution, and while Emerson’s total student population sits roughly at 4,000 as of 2020 according to US News, Boston University (BU) has a student body total of about 32,000 as of 2022. How does a larger university combat food insecurity? Are students aware of their food resources?

The Wheelock College of Education and Human Development at BU operates Campus Cares, a food pantry founded in 2019, which carries non-perishable items as well as hygiene products.

Olivia Bogan, Graduate Student at BU Wheelock Student Services, noted that BU did not have a food pantry available to students prior to Campus Cares.

“Acknowledging rising living costs, changes in tuition plans and meal plans, as well as general awareness and increased research about food insecurity on college campuses including premier R1 institutions, the staff saw [food insecurity] as a need to be filled,” shared Bogan.

The pantry is not designed to be a student’s only food source. Bogan emphasized that “... at this point because we are hoping to grow, but in the long-term trajectory, ideally it’s not the only source of someone’s food.”

With that being said, it makes sense for BU’s food pantry to be supplemental. Students who request food from Campus Cares have filled out an optional survey noting that their visitations are due to either unemployment or fluctuations in work study funds. Because student visitations are results of episodic food insecurity, they may feel that the long-term assistance of SNAP isn’t necessary. 

In this same optional food survey, 20% of students requesting food from Campus Cares say they are also accessing SNAP benefits. Around 10 to 15 students tend to regularly use the pantry each week. 

When students come to campus, especially as first years, first generation students, or from a low-income family, they are more likely to have an institution-centered scope of how they perceive the services offered to them. “If they have a medical need, they’ll go to the university health services. If they are needing academic help, they are going to the university tutors,” Bogan explained. 

“[Food pantries and SNAP] are wonderful resources that students should feel free to access, but they can lose sight of the whole community that the university operates within,” she added, emphasizing the many food access options the city of Boston has to offer.

Bogan continually recommends Project Bread, a non-profit organization that connects individuals to federal nutrition programs such as SNAP, and the Greater Boston Food Bank, the largest hunger-relief program in New England that has a three-meal distribution plan to those in need of food. 

“Contextualizing and introducing folks to Project Bread and Greater Boston Food Bank, which they may have never heard of before… is very empowering in terms of widening their lens of a whole city and community that has resources that are available to them,” Bogan elaborated.

Zhang’s grocery flexibility has allowed her to discover her new favorite meals: Trader Joe’s stuffed gnocchi and sweet potato gnocchi, which she mixes vegetables into to have enough leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.

“It’s such a good meal. It really tastes restaurant-grade but it’s so simple to make,” raved Zhang.

Previous
Previous

Fil-Am Spider-Man