Gov. Andrew Cuomo announces plan to address student food insecurity

New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced a new plan to make sure food pantries are available at all State University of New York and City University of New York colleges in an effort to prevent student food insecurity.

In his fifteenth proposal of the 2018 State of the State address earlier this month, Cuomo announced the “No Student Goes Hungry” program.

His five-point plan aims to combat hunger for students from kindergarten to college. Other parts of his plan include banning “lunch shaming” statewide, requiring breakfast “after the bell,” expanding the Farm to School program and increasing school’s availability of farm-fresh, locally grown foods.

At present, roughly half of CUNY campuses offer food pantries for their students, according to CNN Money. About 70 percent of SUNY campuses have pantries, per CNN Money. If the plan is implemented, New York would be the first state to require every public campus have a food pantry, according to a news release from Cuomo’s office.

“At the SUNY and CUNY that do have pantries, they are serving students and helping them get what they need,” said Clare Cady, director of community engagement for the HOPE Center and co-founder of the College and University Food Bank Alliance.

Food insecurity is a problem affecting students throughout the United States. According to a lab at the University of Wisconsin researching inequality in higher education, a study found that 25 percent of community college students and 20 percent of students attending four-year schools are affected by food insecurity.

“When students have numerous expenses like tuition, utility bills and books that are needed in college, sometimes … the money that is set aside for food is not enough,” said Ginny Yerdon, administrative assistant at SU’s Hendricks Chapel Food Pantry.

SUNY-ESF students are free to use the food pantry at Hendricks Chapel even though it’s on SU’s campus.

Yerdon said some students are embarrassed when they come to the food pantry.

“Asking for help is a scary thing and students may not feel comfortable asking for it,” Cady said. “But when a campus creates programs, students are more likely to get the help they need because they realize their campus cares and lets them know they are not going to be judged.”

Cuomo has said that a $1 million budget will be used for the program. Cady said food pantries are usually financed by either donations or funds to subsidize food.

Each college will need a different individual budget for pantries, depending on where the school is located and the location of local food banks, Cady said, adding that $1 million in funds may be enough to start programs, but not enough for sustainability.

Cady said she hopes that after pantries are created by Cuomo’s program, the schools will offer additional programs to help aid students. If schools created other policies to identify students in need of financial aid, food insecurity would be a less significant problem, she said.

“Food pantries are not the answer, but only part of it,” Cady said. “They are reactive, having food on hand in case of an emergency. But to decrease food insecurity, campuses need to be proactive so that students don’t have that emergency.”