Alleviating Hunger on Campus
December 15, 2020
In 2015, the report Hunger to Learn: Addressing Food and Housing Insecurity Among Undergraduates surveyed 4,000 students at ten community colleges across the country and determined that more than half of all community college students struggle with food insecurity. Unlike hunger, food insecurity is being unable to access enough affordable and nutritious food regularly. Once knowledge of this research reached the BTC community, a committee assembled to assess our students’ needs.
Of the more than 500 Blackhawk students surveyed, 33% said that at some point while they were a student, there was a time they did not have enough food for themselves or their household, while 84% confirmed that they would make use of a food pantry if such a facility existed on campus.
To provide additional food security among Blackhawk Tech students, the BTC Student Cupboard launched in October of 2018. The mission of the Cupboard is to provide supplemental food and other necessities to Blackhawk students and their families who are in need and to ensure no BTC student goes hungry because of a lack of income or access to food.
Any BTC student can use the Student Cupboard; to do so, they must first fill out the Cupboard application. After filling out the application, the student will receive an email with their unique confirmation number and instructions on obtaining food/hygiene items. Once they have a confirmation number, they can begin to request items from the student cupboard. Shopping lists are available that list what students can take depending on the size of their family.
Under normal circumstances, students would be allowed to visit the Cupboard weekly to obtain supplemental food and hygiene items. Currently, the pandemic is requiring that the Cupboard function with no-contact pickups only. Registered students can email requests, which are typically filled within 1-2 business days.
Since opening two years ago, the Cupboard has served close to 300 families at BTC, demonstrating the continued need for such a service.
If you find yourself in a position of being able to share with others, donations of non-perishable foods, cleaning supplies, and hygiene items are welcome in the donation bins located on each campus. “The Student Cupboard can purchase some bulk food items through Second Harvest/Caritas using student activity fees,” explained Megan Wisnowski, Student Engagement Specialist. “However, we cannot order hygiene items through this partnership, so most of the hygiene and cleaning supplies that we give out are obtained through donations – of items and money.”
Monetary donations to support BTC students and the Cupboard can be made via cash/check sent to the attention of Student Cupboard or through the BTC Foundation.
If you need some additional support this season, help is available through the following resources:
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