PowerPoint Presentation

Hi there, my name is Talia and Im the Program Manager for Challah for Hunger.I manage our college chapter program, working with chapter leaders and volunteers who CfH on 80 different campuses across the worldToday, Im very excited to discuss the new national advocacy project that CfH is launching with our partner MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunge

PreviewWhat is the Problem?Causes & ComplicationsChallah for Hungers Response

Before we dive in, let me start by explaining what we mean by campus hunger

When we say hunger, we are really talking about food insecurity. Hunger is the craving or physical need for food. Food-insecurity is more than hunger - students experiencing food insecurity have limited or uncertain access to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle. They dont know where their next meal is coming from, and dont have the necessary resources, time or money to afford or access food.

CfH and MAZON launched the Campus Hunger Project as an educational campaign and research project to expand the conversation on this topic and collect data on if/how colleges and universities are currently addressing this issue. Our goal is to help food-insecure students at colleges and universities across the country to get the food support they need and identify long term solutions to this problem.

Undergraduate and graduate students are being forced to choose between tuition, rent, books and food

You have to choose between things you shouldnt have to choose between... - Cornell Class Confessions

Students skip or reduce meals to save money Students work during school to help afford basic needsLimited/insufficient food affects physical and mental healthFood insecurity affects academics and graduation

What is the problem?

Lets start by dismissing a few stereotypes about college students. Like the ramen noodle myth that college students eat cheap food to save money for things like partying

College food-insecurity is becoming a major issue in the news

College students atlarge public universities are not theonly ones that have reportedtrouble accessing and affording food. Reports of campus hunger come from students at all sizes of schools, and in all parts of the country.They come from schools that are public and private, urban and rural,IvyLeagues and community colleges. Similarly, Challah for Hunger chapters operate on a huge spectrum of school types, with student bodies that rangefrom 2,200 to 25,000+ in places as different as rural Pennsylvania andManhattan.

Theres an important connection to make between college food-insecurity and our education system.

Just over half of public school students grades k-12 are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. A huge percentage of students in our public schools come from low-income families that are already struggling with food-insecurity. Today its great that more students from all socioeconomic classes are attending college, but its important to note that students who needed food assistance in high school take this issue with them to college. There is no national school lunch program for college students when they graduate, they lose the food safety net they had access to K-12

Today, a college degree is more necessary than ever to secure a job, advance a career, and afford a basicquality of life.Out of the11.6 million jobs created during the recovery from the 2008 Recession, 99% of those jobs went to those with at least part of a college education.

But the path to acollege degreecomes with challenges of its own.More than halfof K-12 students in America's public schools (almost 30 million) arelow income and eligible for free orreduced-pricelunch. For those students thatenroll in college,the foodinsecurity they faceddoesnt disappear when they graduate from high school.

Feeding America, the leading network of food pantries in the US, released their annual report on hunger, and found that 10% of clients visiting their food pantries were students - about 4.5 million, half of whom are full time students. These students explicitly reported that they were forced to choose between paying for food and for their educational expenses.

What factors play a role?College UNaffordabilityEven with financial aidEven with scholarships

Changing student demographicsAdministrative barriers

The price of tuition, room and board poses a major financial burden for college students and their families.Even with financial aid in the form of loans, grants and scholarships, millions of part-time and full-time studentsstruggle to cover these costsevery semester. Alow income student, for example, might qualify for and receivea Pell Grant as part of theirfinancial aid package. This is a grant from the federal government:inthe 2015-2016 school year, the average amount awarded was $5,775 per student.While more than 8.6 million college students received a Pell Grant last year, itcoveredbarely1/3 of each of their tuitionand fees. Unmet financial needcan force students to make difficult choices:betweenstudy time and extra hours at a part-time job, and betweenbuying a textbook or groceries for the week.

Changing student demographics: Linked to to this issue is that students who arrive on campus (whove managed to find funding, take out loans) these arent the typical dorm and meal-plan college freshman. Just 13% college students live on campus, 1 in 4 is a parent, and 75% work for pay while in schools

Administrative barriers: One research area where CfH leaders are focusing on is how different administration and offices on campus are helping food-insecure students. Are there established systems in place for helping students that come looking for money to buy food? Do administrators who work in the Office of Financial Aid or Student Services know what resources they can offer students, or can they refer students to off-campus resources?

No Uniform ResponseFood pantriesMeal swipe sharingFlag students One stop shopsSNAP assistance Partnerships

In CfHs preliminary research, we learned over 300 schools have started food pantries for their students with the help of an organization called the College & University Food Bank Alliance. We were surprised to learn the first student food pantry opened back in 1993, and could not believe how many schools have followed in their footsteps.

What are some other ways that schools are responding?

U.Shas over 5,000 degree-granting institutions of varying size and indifferent areas of the country. What challengesdo administrators in Offices forFinancial Aid and Student Lifeencounteratsmall private college compared to at large public universities?Are therebest practices that college administrators share with each other? What different types ofresources and services are being created at the schools where Challah for Hunger chapters operate?

Some schools have social workers on campus to connect students with resources like Food Stamps. Some schools have emergency scholarship funds, and others are creating task forces to research the needs of their students more closely. A growing number of schools lets students with extra meal swipes or dining points donate them to their peers.

Why does CfH care? Urgent issue for you, your volunteers, and your peersCfH believes in the power of local advocacyThis is HYPER local advocacyStudents need their basic needs met to succeed during and after college CfH volunteers are researchers on the ground

Our goal is to make long-term change in this specific issue of hunger among college-students. We will do this with a research and advocacy project called The Campus Hunger Project

Challah for Hungers ResponsePHASE 1: Interviews PHASE 2: Analysis PHASE 3: Customized Advocacy on Campus

Phase 1 InterviewsWere asking CfH leaders and their volunteers to interview campus administrators from Offices of Financial Aid and Student Services to find out how (or if) their individual schools are responding (or not) to food-insecure students.We already had 3 CfH leaders conduct pilot interviews in Spring 2016: American University, Boulder-Colorado, VermontThis project is NOT a nationwide survey to find out the number/statistics of food-insecure students at different schools. We are investigating what (if any) resources/services are offered by campus administrators to food-insecure students

Phase 2 AnalysisInterviews will take place Fall 2016 - Spring 2017. After that, MAZON and CfH staff will analyze all our students findingsWell zero in on the barriers/challenges that any given office/organization faces, identify similarities at different schools, and build a continuum of schools from those that are doing nothing on top of it

Phase 3Specific, campus-customized advocacy

How can I get involved?Im a chapter leaderSign a chapter pledge promising that your chapter will.Hold an info session about campus hunger for your volunteersConduct 2 interviews with Financial Aid and Student ServicesPromote the Campus Hunger Project at bakes and at the sales tableSign up to become an advocate on our website and share this link with friends/family Im a chapter board member Become an advocate on our website and share this link with friends/family Im a volunteer/customer Become an advocate on our website and share this link with friends/family Attend an info session or conduct an interview Im an Alumni/friend/parent/supporter of Challah for Hunger Become an advocate on our website and share this link with friends/family Donate to CfH to help us support our students in this initiative

So how can you get involved?