By Robyn Walters
WASHINGTON -- Corn, peas, ramen noodles, pasta sauces -- these are some of the hundreds of food items stored in the lower level of one of the freshmen dorms on American University's campus.
The Market, an on-campus food pantry dedicated to combating food insecurity on American's campus, allows students who can't afford to pay for their next meal to have access to non-perishable food items for free.
There is one problem, though: For the most part, students don't know it exists.
When Olivia Freides, a sophomore at American, was asked what she knew about the Market, she responded with, "I haven't heard of it, I haven't seen it advertised anywhere and I didn't know it existed."
The Market has been operational since the 2017-2018 school year and has had some success in alleviating food insecurity at American. However, if students don't know it exists, what is the purpose?
All across the United States, college students suffer from food insecurity. Because college life is so expensive, between buying books and paying rent, students often find themselves lacking the funds to buy their next meal.
In the Washington metropolitan area, students find themselves severely affected by food insecurity. Situated in one of the most expensive places to live in the country, universities like George Washington University and American often have students that struggle with affording food.
In 2016, GWU launched its first on-campus food pantry, the Store, to provide students who suffer from food insecurity with free food. The Store came about after a survey was released to the student body to determine how many students suffered from food insecurity. The results were astounding as an alarming 60% of the students surveyed found themselves experiencing food insecurity.
Chinwendu Ngwadom, the graduate student project assistant for the Store, handles the food pantry's day-to-day operations.
According to Ngwadom, "At the end of last year, there were around 800 students signed up. For this semester, we have 465 students signed up. Based on the data, there are 80-100 students who use the services weekly."
Because GWU was successful in addressing the food insecurity problems on its campus, higher-ups at American looked to the Store as inspiration when formulating the Market.
The Market came about after several students presented their struggles with food insecurity to Fanta Aw, the vice president of campus life and inclusive excellence. After receiving testimonies from students, Aw decided to do some research into food insecurity for herself. She discovered that food insecurity was a common issue college students faced on a day-to-day basis.
After speaking with representatives from the Store, Aw had a rough idea of the type of pantry she wanted to set up for American's campus.
"Whatever we decided to come up with had to reach some criteria. First and foremost, it needed to protect the dignity of those who are using the food pantry," Aw said, “It needed to be in an appropriate location and we had to figure out how students would access this anonymously."
With that in mind, she and several other staff members from the Office of Campus Life set out to get companies to donate food.
Today, the Market is partnered with the Capital Area Food Bank, which provides a large portion of the non-perishable food items to American's food pantry. They also work with the Center for Community Engagement and Service to provide student volunteers to restock the shelves and pick up food. Additionally, the Market is part of the College and University Food Bank Alliance, a network of college food pantries from around the country.
Based on the research that was done to combat food insecurity on American's campus and the fact that the university partners with several organizations to provide students with useful resources to get food if they cannot afford it, why don't more students know about it?
Ryan Marian, a student at American, said, "There is a lack of understanding on how low-income people are affected on this campus, whether it be mental health or food insecurity. I think that is because we have a very wealthy base of people who go here."
Some students at American feel that the lack of advertising translates to a lack of care.
When asked why he believes the university does not advertise the Market, William Jarrod Jeffcoat, a junior at American, said, "I think it’s a combination of lack of interest and then a lack of effort."
The Market's location also makes some students feel as though their food insecurities are something to be ashamed of.
Andrew Yianne, a junior at American, said, "The Market is located in such a secluded section of campus and that might make people feel embarrassed for wanting to go and get food from the pantry."
With students feeling as though the university does not support those who are food insecure, some feel as though the program needs to be revamped.
Anthony Hollinger, director of military-affiliated student support and special initiative for the Office of Campus Life, is in charge of the pantry's day-to-day operations and ensuring students that are food insecure have access to free food.
Before the Market was officially launched, Hollinger and some of his coworkers reached out to different offices on campus who do work one-on-one with students.
When discussing the university's initial approach to promoting the Market, Hollinger said, "(We went) through the counseling center and the wellness center and to those places where we thought students who were most needy would preside."
The team tasked with formatting the Market did not want those who needed to use its services to feel as though the university was using their financial situation to gain accolades.
Recently, Hollinger has worked with both on-campus and off-campus organizations to promote the Market and its services.
"I have talked to other students for different interviews and articles," Hollinger said. "We want to make sure that we can increase the awareness as much as possible."
For more information on the Market, visit www.american.edu/ocl/the-market.cfm.
Located in a freshman residence hall on American University’s campus, Anthony Hollinger, director of military-affiliated student support and special initiative for the Office of Campus Life, stands in American’s first ever on-campus food pantry on, the Market. As one of the people who lead the activation of the Market, Hollinger is in charge of the pantry’s day-to-day operations and ensuring students that are food insecure have access to free food.
(Photo by Robyn Walters)
