Quirkygal

Struggling college students turn to food banks - Yahoo! News



By WHITNEY MALKIN, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 25, 2:36 PM ET



SEATTLE - Just blocks from the University of Washington, a line of people shuffle toward a food pantry, awaiting handouts such as milk and bread.

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For years, the small University District pantry has offered help to the working poor and single parents in this neighborhood of campus rentals. Now rising food prices are bringing another group: Struggling college students.

"Right now, with things the way they are, a lot of students just can't afford to eat," said Terry Capleton, who started a Facebook group called "I Ain't Afraid to be on Food Stamps" when he was a student at Benedict College in South Carolina.

Some of the students are working their way through college with grants, loans and part-time jobs. Others are just reluctant to ask parents for more money.

"More and more, it's just the typical traditional student, about 18 to 22, that's feeling this crunch," said Larry Brickner-Wood, director of the Cornucopia Food Pantry at the University of New Hampshire.

"There's definitely been an increase in usage and demand. We're seeing more and more students that have never used the pantry before."

In the past year, the price of groceries has jumped nearly 5 percent, the highest increase in nearly two decades. The cost of some staples has shot up by more than 30 percent.

At the University District pantry in Seattle, demand has risen roughly 25 percent this year. About 150 students visit each week during the school year.

Membership in Capleton's Facebook group has steadily climbed, too, and sparked other online groups with names such as "I'm in College and I got on Food Stamps."

"A lot of students can't call their mom every day to ask for that extra fifty dollars," said Capleton, 24. "They're on their own."

Qualifying for aid at community food banks is usually easy. Most of the charities just require users to show identification proving they live in the area.

The Community College of Denver runs its own food-assistance program, which has seen demand double in the past year.

"It's the highest I've ever seen," said Jerry Mason, the school's director of student life. "Our assumption is it's because of the high price of food."

In response to demand, the school doubled the pantry's $3,000 annual budget.

Food stamps are distributed through a Department of Agriculture program administered by the states. But the agency does not track whether applicants are enrolled in college, so the number of students is unknown.

Students generally are eligible for food stamps if they qualify for a state or federally funded work-study program; work at least 20 hours per week; have a child under the age of 12; or are taking employer-sponsored job training classes.

Deirdre Wilson, a junior at Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C., applied for food stamps in November because her paycheck from a work-study job didn't stretch far enough to cover her expanding grocery bill.

"Before, when I lived in the dorms, I was on the meal plan," the 20-year-old said. "Now that I'm in the apartment, I have to pay for food, and I have to pay my cell phone bill. I don't make enough to pay for both."

John Camp, lead analyst for Washington state's food stamp program, said the requirements for assistance disqualify many students and dissuade others from applying. People ages 18 to 25 make up roughly 8 percent of the state's food stamp users.

In New Hampshire, some students are reluctant to apply for government aid.

"There is a stereotype that well, if they're in college, they can afford to eat," said Brickner-Wood, the food pantry director. "But there are some students who have hardly any disposable income, and because of that, the food budget suffers. They either eat really badly, or they just don't eat enough."

Standing outside a campus market, University of Washington junior Doug McManaway wonders how he will afford to pay for groceries through the summer term.

"I'm already really poor and on a really tight budget," he said. "I have to pay rent, and after that there isn't much left over."

With just $100 left to last him through the end of the month, the 20-year-old said a food bank might be his best option.

"It kind of grosses me out," McManaway said. "But if my parents say, 'No, we're not going to give you any more money,' it may be a last resort."

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Personally, I'd rather eat than have a cell phone. Whatever happened to the ol' landline?

ImusWallower

yup. i feel bad for them. it really sucks paying for school and trying to eat and pay rent, but perhaps they should give up their toys such as their cell phones

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Finally

And nice cars, late night drinking and partying, poor college students, how about a College-Aid concert to help them out.....not

guest1234567

My son's been living off campus for a couple of years now. He works at a Barnes & Nobel, goes to school full time, and has to practice two guitars for four to five hours a day because he majors in Jazz and Classical performance.

He doesn't have time to eat anyway, so he probably won't notice missing a few meals he can't afford .

cheapseats

That is exactly right.

Application for federal assistance by students should absolutely be cross-referenced with family finances.

A family cannot be considered to be rightly and responsibly packing a child off to college without budget for food.

Similarly, college loan packages cannot realistically omit food.

Let's sort 'em out, one by one. Those who so need assistance in honorable pursuit of education that they require food itself, versus those who are workin' the system...say, greasing on the government for food and pocketing the allowance provided by Baby Boom parents.

That latter group? Slap fines on 'em. Threaten 'em with a demerit on their Permanent Record if they pull another scam before the age of 25. It'll be that much harder to get a loan as credit continues to tighten.

Consequences, that's how people learn.

If a practice makes or saves money, there will be abuse. If abuse of the practice makes or saves money with impunity, there will be more abuse. People who think people are essentially good and, given adequate sustenance, will live peacefully and agreeably, one never disadvantaging the other to his own benefit, really need to get over that. It's not happening in this lifetime.

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DanS.

It is until they turn 23. In fact I moved out of my parent's house when I was a junior in highschool and had been supporting myself for several years. But it didn't matter when I applied for college aid when I was 20....they still needed my parent's finances.


They don't omit it, but they also don't pay whatever you want for tuition. Rigged goes to a relatively expensive school. If he went to a cheaper one tuiton, books, room and board are all factored in and would be covered if it wasn't for the high rate of tuiton he's paying.


As I said they do, it's on a need basis first. The funds go to the people that need it the most first and then so on down the line if there is any left.

cheapseats

As in, we have been given X number of dollars to give away and, by golly, we're gonna give it all away if it's the last thing we do?

The entire country is experiencing the same hike in food prices...are we all lining up at soup kitchens? No, we are not. There are MORE people lining up...there are a LOTTA people newly on the street in Los Angeles...but we are not lining up as communities.

Why, then, is the community of students hit so hard? Are so many more college students than, say, convenience store clerks living so close to the edge, or might some people be taking advantage?

Scamming is one of our biggest industries. Top down, top down.

It is EVERYWHERE. Pretend you're mopping up water after a flood or ashes after a fire...everywhere you turn, no matter how much you clean, there's more. That's where we're at with corruption and inefficiency, in big government and big business alike. We'll leave the military out of it, since they're the ones with the weapons. Besides, for them too...top down, top down.

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DanS.

Well, if it puts it into perspective I made between $30,000 and $40,000 a year(I was the only one earning money), with a family to support and I got zero dollars.