Ecologue

“In coping with food insecurity, students often purchase lower quality and less healthy foods than they would like. Essentially all students expressed the desire to eat healthy foods, but were blocked from doing so mostly because of cost and sometimes because of a lack of transportation or cooking equipment. Many mentioned organic and environmentally responsible foods in describing their idea of healthy eating. Contrary to the image of the slobby uncaring student, most people I talked to had sophisticated ideas about what is best for them to eat, even when they couldn’t always choose those things for themselves. Most people did not use any other sources of free food or alternative food procurement such as gardening, which surprised me. There were no noticeable differences between people who grew up with food insecurity and those that did not. Shame, as mentioned above was the most noticeable social impediment to alleviating food insecurity. Institutional impediments that came up frequently were the difficulty for students to access government assistance, the inadequate salaries for graduate students, and specifically for students living in the dorms the cost and lack of cooking equipment on campus. In addition to their current excellent food education efforts, I recommend that the SSI continue to focus on increasing access and awareness of helpful resources for students, and advocating for socially and economically sustainable practices with the university.

The SSI award helped me a lot in that the extra income allowed me to focus more fully on my research and other academic work instead of looking for other sources of income. My connection to the SSI has helped me to become more integrated and aware of programs and groups that are relevant to my work on campus. In particular my involvement with Hunger and Homelessness Week this fall, although not specifically connected to this award, was really great in spreading awareness of my work, networking, and practicing presenting my research. Thank you once again for awarding me this grant.” ~ Juliet Sutton