Food Insecurity Now Affects Almost Half of Students at IUPUI

Food insecurity rates are rising rapidly in Marion County. According to the Service Learning Assistant at the IUPUI Campus Kitchen, Ashabul Alam, “43 percent of students at IUPUI are now classified as food insecure.”

Marion County has the highest food insecurity rate in all of Indiana. According to research conducted by The Den, one in five people in the Indianapolis area do not know where their next meal will come from.

Students at IUPUI have not been immune to this problem. With new, pricey restaurants arriving on campus this year, it is harder than ever for IUPUI students to afford the three meals they need to function daily.

Luckily, student volunteers in the IUPUI community have come together to combat this problem through programs such as Paws Pantry and the Campus Kitchen.

For the last seven years, IUPUI has provided their students with access to canned goods, fresh produce, personal hygiene items, and more essentials through Paws Pantry. According to the lead student volunteer at Paws Pantry, Zoie Rynard, “The main goal at Paws Pantry is to help students avoid another monthly bill when it comes to college expenses.”

Paws Pantry is located in the heart of campus, at CE 130 in the IUPUI Campus Center. Rynard stated that Paws Pantry is open for students to visit up to twice a month. All you need to enter the pantry is your crimson card.

The student volunteers at Paws Pantry also explained that the pantry is currently run on a points system. There are different categories of items available and once you have met the point limit for that category, it is checked off. All visitors to Paws Pantry can take up to the designated amount of products in each category twice a month.

The Den website states that Paws Pantry serves IUPUI students, faculty, and staff, no questions asked. Rynard explained that the pantry is constantly promoting volunteering and donations. There are organizations campus wide that contribute to the success of Paws Pantry and lowering food insecurity rates at IUPUI.

Rynard also stated that IUPUI is the only university she is aware of that offers a program such as this one for food insecure students. She mentioned that donations are the main source of their products and funds, and the community keeps Paws Pantry in business.

Paws Pantry is also home to the volunteer-run Paws Closet, which provides students with access to professional attire for job interviews, meetings, or class presentations. IUPUI is aware of how costly it can be to purchase groceries and business clothing, so they strive to make those essentials easily accessible and affordable for students in the community.

The IUPUI Campus Kitchen is run by student volunteers as well. According to their website, “CKIUPUI rescues food from going to waste, transforms it into healthy meals, and serves to those experiencing food insecurity on campus and in the community.”

To date, the Campus Kitchen has served 10,600 meals to those in need of food on campus. One of their mission statements is to, “Strengthen bodies by using existing resources to meet hunger and nutritional needs in our community.”

Regardless of the efforts put forth by both Paws Pantry and the Campus Kitchen, the fact that 43 percent of IUPUI students are food insecure still remains. Students can get involved in solving the food insecurity problem on campus by volunteering at Paws Pantry or the Campus Kitchen.

Students can also donate canned goods to Paws Pantry to ensure the pantry remains stocked and available for all students to receive meals they need.

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