ROCK HILL, S.C. — The USDA says food prices this summer were 10% higher compared to July of 2021. Among those impacted are college students, who dealt with food insecurity even before the pandemic and continue to deal with challenges.
A Hope Survey showed 29% of students at four-year colleges and 38% at 2-year colleges experienced food insecurity in the fall of 2020.
“Winthrop is no different than I think any other university in our region," Wanda Koszewski, Department Chair of Human Nutrition at Winthrop University, said. "We’re averaging between 38 and 44%, so we usually tell people about 40% of our students are food insecure."
College students are not immune to rising food, rent and gas costs.
“Everything is more expensive for our students," Miranda Knight, Assistant Dean of Students at Winthrop University, said. "They buy the same things we buy."
Winthrop University's Department of Human Nutrition established a food pantry called The Food Box, which offers shelf-stable food and personal care items like soap and toothpaste. It also grows its own good, healthy food and distributes it for free at a farmers market for students.
“I want them to do their best and they can’t do their best if they’re not getting good, healthy foods," Koszewski said.
Winthrop’s food service company, Sodexo, is also stepping up to help. The company is donating one free meal swipe for every meal sold, which students can redeem anonymously at the campus dining hall. Sodexo says it donated 15,000 meals since it launched the program in 2019.
“Everybody has a time when they need a little help and this is a little help," Helen Hoban with Sodexo said. "Nobody is going to go hungry here at Winthrop."
Appointments for the Food Box can be made online or by phone. If you'd like to donate, food and personal care items may be dropped off in the box outside of the Department's main office, 302 Dalton Hall.
For information on receiving a free meal swipe or other services, contact Miranda Knight at knightm@winthrop.edu.
Contact Indira Eskieva at ieskieva@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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