By Ceoli Jacoby

Student groups from colleges and universities across the state are voicing support for new legislation that would establish a grant program to combat food insecurity on campuses. 

The Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program would allocate $150,000 in state funds to be put towards hiring staff to connect students with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), creating a swipe-sharing system for students with meal plans, and expanding food pantry services.

Four-year public institutions of higher education would also be required to organize a Hunger-Free Task Force that would meet tri-annually to discuss the issue of food insecurity and raise awareness through campus events. 

The cross-filed bills are co-sponsored by Delegate Debra Davis, D-28, in the Maryland House of Delegates and Sen. Mary Washington, D-43, in the Maryland Senate. SB767 passed unanimously upon the third reading on March 19. The House of Delegates delayed, passing the third reading of HB891 on the 69th day of the 2021 legislative session – otherwise known as the crossover deadline by which each chamber must send all bills intended to pass favorably to the opposite chamber. 

Both Davis and Washington expressed confidence that the bill will make it to the governor’s desk. But, whether or not funding for the grant program will be mandated in the budget for fiscal year 2023 is ultimately up to Gov. Larry Hogan. 

If enacted, the grant program would provide much-needed assistance to the growing contingent of college students who do not know when they will eat their next meal. 

According to Allison Tjaden, assistant director of UMD Dining Services, there have been 16,000 visits to the Campus Pantry since 2014 – more than half of which were made during or after March 2020. However, the UMD Food Access and Student Well-Being Study showed that 20% of students were food insecure even before the pandemic began.

“This reality speaks to the significant need at this time,” Tjaden said. “We need ongoing financial support to keep the program running – for food, staffing and other supplies.”

According to the study, students who are food insecure earned significantly lower cumulative GPAs and were more likely to leave UMD before finishing their degrees. Nearly a third of food insecure students reported weight loss as a result of not being able to afford food and almost half reported feeling depressed. 

Student groups that were more likely to experience food insecurity included transfer students, first-generation college students, students with disabilities and students who are divorced, separated or widowed. 

“There’s still a lot of stigma, and a lot of misunderstanding about who students are,” Washington said. “There’s this assumption that students have parents that can support them financially or that students are not parenting and taking care of households in addition to going to school.”

Davis has a special place in her heart for first-generation college students. She recalled arriving on UMD’s campus in her father’s pickup truck with “no idea what to expect.” Although she had a full meal plan, some of her peers weren’t so lucky.

“People from my era joked about eating Oodles of Noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” she said. “It’s almost as if we accepted that we were going to have hunger issues.”

Davis hoped that the legislation, in addition to providing critical support for food-insecure students, will increase public awareness of the issue. She credited student organizations who have provided written and oral testimonies in support of the bill with doing just that.

“I got the impression from the members of the Maryland General Assembly that they never thought about it before,” she said. “I have to admit, even I was surprised that this was as large a problem as it is.”

Among the student groups advocating on behalf of the program are the UMD SGA, Morgan State University’s Eat Right Club and Swipe Out Hunger. 

UMD Challah for Hunger, a Hillel-affiliated student group, has been unable to hold in-person events for the duration of the pandemic. This semester, the group turned to social media to encourage their followers to contact representatives and express support for the program. The group disseminated an email template written by its national partner, Swipe Out Hunger, to help simplify the process. 

“The funding would greatly impact students facing food insecurity,” Challah for Hunger presidents Gabi Frohlich and Serena Fruend wrote in a statement. “We are so excited to continue watching the bill progress.”

Featured photo: The clerk of the Maryland House of Delegates holds a roll call on HB891. Ceoli Jacoby/Stories Beneath the Shell