UO’s Student Sustainability Center tackles summer food insecurity | News

The University of Oregon’s Student Sustainability Center is focused on ensuring food security for students — even over the summer. The program’s efforts to combat food insecurity largely remains the same as during the school year.

Dr. Taylor McHolm, one of SSC’s program directors and a member of UO’s Food Security Task Force, said food insecurity is a universal spectrum. Food insecurity as a spectrum can range from students not having access to consistent nutrition to students choosing food they can afford over what they actually want to eat, he said.

McHolm said SSC tries to address food insecurity in holistic ways to support students along the food insecurity spectrum.

McHolm said food insecurity in UO’s student body doesn’t disappear when students leave Eugene for the summer; students still experience food insecurity wherever they are. The difference is that students in Eugene have access to programs through UO, he said.

Over the summer, students can access the student food pantry, produce drops outside the EMU and Ducks Feeding Ducks.

The produce drop only distributes fresh produce outside the EMU from 3-5 p.m. on Tuesdays, according to UO’s food security page. The student food pantry provides a wide variety of pantry staples like pastas, grains, canned goods and proteins. Both options are free, fresh and provide opportunities for students to get good food, McHolm said.

Ducks Feeding Ducks allows students with less than $4 in their student account to receive $10 worth of DuckBucks to spend on food. Students must apply for the program online, McHolm said, but it has a fast turnaround. Funding for Ducks Feeding Ducks comes from student accounts who did not use or donated their DuckBucks, SOURCE said.

SSC also provides a representative from the Department of Health and Safety to help students apply for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

Lindsay Nguyen, a food security assistant at UO, said she has been on SNAP since her sophomore year of college. She wants to destigmatize the idea that food insecurity only pertains to those who are impoverished, she said.

Nguyen and McHolm said food is a right for all people, and SCC’s services are for all students.

Nguyen said she wants to do more food security collaborations with the Multicultural Center. She wants to reach more communities that might not have access or information about their current food programs, she said.

Nguyen said that with MCC doing its own produce drops, students have an additional day of opportunity to receive fresh produce.

Nguyen said she also wants to focus on distributing more seasonings at the food pantry.

“You might as well make your food taste good,” Nguyen said. “If you’re eating something, you might as well enjoy it.”