Feature
www.qns.com I LIC COURIER I DECEMBER 2018 35
Photos by Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech
“I am one of the lucky ones,” said Delacruz. “There are
people that are literally starving.”
More college students in Queens worry about where their
next meal is coming from than they did 10 or 15 years ago, ac-cording
to a study from the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute.
The rise in number has been attributed to a combination
of factors — increased housing costs, higher university tuition
and higher number of low-income students being able to
attend college.
This increase comes at a time when food insecurity in the
borough as a whole is increasing. According to a study from
Hunger Free America, 70 percent of Queens emergency
food programs report an increase in number of people served
this year.
According to CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, in Fall
2015, about 15,715 students at the four CUNY campuses
in Queens (Queens College, York College, Queensborough
Community College and LaGuardia Community College)
reported that they often or sometimes experienced hunger
in the last 12 months due to insufficient resources for food.
About 15,715 students enrolled on the Queens campuses
reported experiencing any level of food insecurity in the past
12 months. In 2015, about 35,000 students were enrolled
in the two community colleges in Queens and about 25,000
undergraduates were enrolled at Queens College or York
College.
“I was definitely embarrassed at first,” said Delacruz about
visiting La Guardia’s food pantry. Many students suffering from
food insecurity are embarrassed about their situation and to
ask for help. Only one-third of four-year students with food
insecurity reported using campus-based services, according
to the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute.
In order to combat this crisis, more Queens colleges have
opened food pantries. Earlier this month, Queens College
opened a pantry; Queensborough Community College has
been operating a food pantry since 2016.
But this is not just a Queens phenomenon. More colleges
across the nation are opening food pantries. According to
a 2018 survey from the College and University Food Bank
Alliance (CUFBA), in 2012 there were 88 campuses with
registered food pantries with organization. Now, there are
are 686 CUFBA members. The most common challenges
faced by campus food pantries are insufficient funding, food
and volunteers.
It seems that at least some level of food insecurity is a
product of coming to school, according to Director of the
CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute Nicholas Freudenberg,
who finds it saddening and poignant that student’s go hungry
while in the pursuit of bettering their lives. The way to combat
the issue is through a holistic approach of decreasing tuition
costs and creating more affordable housing.
“Pantries are a good short term solution but they are like
a band aid and not a long term solution,” said Freudenberg.
“I was definitely embarrassed at first,” said Delacruz about
visiting La Guardia’s food pantry. Many students suffering from
food insecurity are embarrassed about their situation and to
ask for help. Only one-third of four-year students with food
insecurity reported using campus-based services, according
to the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute.
In order to combat this crisis, more Queens colleges have
opened food pantries. Earlier this month, Queens College
opened a pantry; Queensborough Community College has
been operating a food pantry since 2016.
But this is not just a Queens phenomenon. More colleges
across the nation are opening food pantries. According to
a 2018 survey from the College and University Food Bank
Alliance (CUFBA), in 2012 there were 88 campuses with
registered food pantries with organization. Now, there are
are 686 CUFBA members. The most common challenges
faced by campus food pantries are insufficient funding, food
and volunteers.
It seems that at least some level of food insecurity is a
product of coming to school, according to Director of the
CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute Nicholas Freudenberg,
who finds it saddening and poignant that student’s go hungry
while in the pursuit of bettering their lives. The way to combat
the issue is through a holistic approach of decreasing tuition
costs and creating more affordable housing.
“Pantries are a good short term solution but they are like
a band aid and not a long term solution,” said Freudenberg.
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