Struggling college students turn to food banks

AP, via Yahoo!:



Struggling college students turn to food banks
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.

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. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080725/ap_on_re_us/students_food_banks

I guess these are the students that don't live on campus or commute to school from their parents home?

Are very expensive. My parents stopped paying for mine after sophmore year.

waste of money.. the cafeteria made us sick more days than not... but we had this other place on campus we could use our meal card towards.. It was much better and cheaper for my parents and myself when I lived off of campus in an apt.

:(

At both of the local universities, it can take up to 3 years to get into the dorms and it's more expensive than off-campus.

It's not two roommates in a 10'x12' room. Suite style dorms with all sorts of amenities like private bathrooms and bedrooms are what's being built these days.

Go back to the 10'x12' rooms instead of these Taj Mahal dorms, and you'll be able to house more students for less money.

I know, I lived there for a year. They haven't built any new dorms that I'm aware of; there's no land on which to build. Expensive as all hell, the meal plans were pricey in 1993 (when I was there- I can't imagine what it is like now) and most of the student population lives off campus.

Your information isn't accurate at all for the students in my town. Why?

We are underfunding education in this country. Those small rooms, shared baths, common cafeterias, and general overcrowding heavily contributed to my sinking GPA, and I got the hell out of there as soon as I could.

Not that it helped: I moved back in with my parents. That's a whole other story, though...

Perhaps it depends on the university. Most I know of offer a mix of apartments, townhouses (for families), and shared rooms. Shared accommodations on campus are a lot more expensive than off campus. I'm not sure universities are interested in charging students less money. Where is the profit in that?

No it isn't just the high cost of food. The cost of college has gone up astronomically and student aid has gone down. After paying tuition and fees there isn't money left over for food.

I doubt that 18 to 22 year olds are generally adept at money management. One night out can easily blow an entire weeks, or months, food budget.

I know money is tight for everyone, but food is the last thing that anyone can't afford. I'm going to make my $1.69 bag of dried beans from Trader Joe's last all weekend. It's simmering right now and smells wonderful.

How do you know exactly what situation these students are in? I know I'd hate to be a college student these days, with exorbitant college costs and crappy job prospects.

on every thread about college students.

That "Oh, I know what your problem is" attitude really bugs me....

That's about how much it costs to eat per day at most. But maybe some have higher standards....

If you are not homeless, how can you eat on $2/day? Serious question.

All 3 of those things ring up to less than $2 I believe. That doesn't include other items such as beans and potatoes which are also inexpensive.

But I get the distinct impression that I am swimming with the big fish, and considered just a little cretin who doesn't have the lofty standards that everyone else seems to have. Silly me, I'm trying to earn what I get in life and not just assuming I'm entitled fancy meals.

Edit: Oh and it's not "If" I was homeless but, I was homeless and still feel that way, like everyone else just seems to think they are better and lofty and more deserving and get whatever they want without earning it. I made my way back to college off the streets and I'm still up against those kind of folks.

And when I was homeless food was my last concern, but a place to live and some respect from others. Well, little has changed.

mayo a few dollars, if you put such in the sandwich.

So, a ramen, a banana, 1 can tuna, 1 loaf bread=$5 Let's make it 2 bananas and 2 ramens to up it to $6, which will last you for 3 days? That is all you will eat for 3 days? I hope this won't go on for long because I can see some definite malnutrition issues here.

Beans and potatoes are inexpensive, if you have a way to cook them. I have survived harsh times on fried potatoes, onions, cheese, and on cooked beans with a few veggies thrown in or a pinch of spice.


"when I was homeless food was my last concern, but a place to live and some respect from others. " For the bigger picture, yes. On the daily survival picture, food is a concern.

"But I get the distinct impression that I am swimming with the big fish, and considered just a little cretin who doesn't have the lofty standards that everyone else seems to have. Silly me, I'm trying to earn what I get in life and not just assuming I'm entitled fancy meals. " Seems most of your replies on this thread have been insulting like this, from the beginning. I wouldn't be surprised that people snark back and then you get to snark again and around and around we all go.

Finally, there are people, too many, who do want things without earning them. But there are those of us who don't. Best of luck to you and yours.

One slip-up and the entire week's food budget is down the tubes. Everyone slips up financially, even adults. But especially 18-22 year olds. They are lured into buying at every turn, and then are forced to suffer for it.

I'm not blaming them, I'm blaming the system which takes advantage of others' mistakes.

without any health care coverage and then he got hit with parking tickets on his van while he was in the hospital and recuperating for 12 WEEKS!! He lost his scholarship because he didn't pay the parking tickets and he couldn't pay the parking tickets because he was in the hospital and then recuperating from surgery and so, lost his job and he didn't have any food or money. I know. I paid his rent and utilities and bought food. Yeah, he was just a crazy 20 something, carefree and just fucking off with his money!! :grr: :grr:

It sounds like he could not afford tuition.

I totally sympathize and if I were an employer I'd hire him and pay for the rest of his college. But I'm poor and have no power to help. So I'm not sure why you're mad at me.

"He lost his scholarship because he didn't pay the parking tickets and he couldn't pay the parking tickets because he was in the hospital and then recuperating from surgery and so, lost his job and he didn't have any food or money."

I'm like a wrong magnet.

Because I'm not sure that I said anything that's debatable. The younger one is, the worse one is with money, in most cases, unless one is some kind of prodigy. 18-22 year olds are just starting out in life and have no idea how to handle expenses. If they are going to college, they have a budget from scholarships, loans, relatives, etc. Either the budget is being mismanaged, or they should have known they couldn't afford college in the first place. Sorry if that sounds cruel, but it's the way the world works. I'd prefer it were different. I really HOPE things are different soon.

:eyes:

I have a 19 yr old and he handles his expenses quite well.

Pays on time, without the help of a credit card.

He knows the value of a dollar and a hard days work.

Your broad brush is just, well, broad.

I just said that I'd hire him if I were an employer, and pay for his college tuition. If I were an employer would that make a difference in your assessment of me????

My guess is that is that it would.

Leverage the situation and find a business that understands the circumstances. If a businesses is not willing to understand then that's their problem, probably not the kind of business he'd want to work with anyway.

My 'broad brush' pertains to the typical broad situation in which a kid has a budget and blows through it due to pressure from evil rich assholes who see college students as cash cows. Those kids are raising the food bank usage, I think.

he shouldn't have been there in the first place?

>have no idea how to handle expenses<

Why don't you explain to me how one "handles expenses" after two surgeries that can't wait and were done without benefit of health insurance coverage? Oh, I get it: He or she should have just waited till they had health insurance for their education, right?

I can hardly wait to read this.
Julie

He had a budget from scholarship. "He lost his scholarship because he didn't pay the parking tickets and he couldn't pay the parking tickets because he was in the hospital and then recuperating from surgery and so, lost his job and he didn't have any food or money."

So, he shouldn't have gone to college in the first place because he couldn't afford to go without the scholarship? Or, he mismanaged his scholarship budget by having 2 urgent operations without health care and so blew it that way?

The focus is on students who don't have the time or financial means for even one night out, hence the food stamps. I suppose a few of them might be able to bump their work hours up to 40 or 50 per week, but having done that myself, the subsequent drop in GPA and loss of internship/networking opportunities diminishes the value of attendance altogether.

The cost of food is not the issue but the cost of education.

And you raise the point that the work done while in college should also be considered a valuable part of the college experience. Yes, working 1 extra hour a day would pay for food. And when employers ask about GPA they should take into consideration whether the student was working or not during that time.

College administrators are trying to blame the high cost of food when the high cost of college is the bigger problem.

Food is getting F-ing expensive, that's not our fault. That I'm trying to eat healthily in order to loose weight is hard on my budget too, fresh fruits and veggies are more expensive then Ramen and Pasta-Roni.

I'm on the event planning committee and I'm going to schedule a meeting and start a food drive. I believe someone was on DU about a week ago begging for us to start donating to the local food pantries. I'm ashamed it took a second post to get me off my ass.

If you don't mind dumpster diving (my daughter and her friends do it once in awhile, but at vegan friendly, organic food places), you can eat very well here in Seattle. One night when she was staying with me, she and her friend brought home tons of food: bread, organic juices, meatless roasts, etc. Her friend had shown her all the best places to go to get food down by the factories in the industrial areas. There was nothing was wrong with the food, it was just close to expiration.

That's what I subsisted on in college.

Jesus, I'm starting to sound like McCain.

Hell, these aren't QUITE like my college days. We had PARENTS who had AVAILABLE CASH to bail us out occasionally.

I empathize with these students.

Ten cents was ten minutes in the dryer.

We existed on ramen.

Julie

at the college cafeteria. They gave you a card that was punched by the cashier. It was like food stamps. In fact, I think for a while, college students were eligible for food stamps in California. That was when UC was free, too.

Now, I must go find my cane. lol

Even when I was in college in the seventies, we were all on food stamps, got government chees, and practically lived on ramen noodles. With costs what they are now, it's either an act of faith or lunacy to start college.

How do they do it?

http://cted.wa.gov/maps/

This looks like a good site. On the right it has a list of places/counties. Several churches are listed.

Pierce County - All Saints Community Services Food Bank
Pierce County - Allen Ame Food Pantry
Pierce County - Asbury Community Food Bank
Pierce County - Bikers Against Statewide Hunger - WA
Pierce County - Bonney Lake Food Bank
Pierce County - Bounty Food Bank
Pierce County - Bread Box F.I.S.H Food Bank
Pierce County - Bread of Life Buckley Food Bank
Pierce County - Buckley KIWANIS Food Bank
Pierce County - Camp Fire Boys & Girls Food Bank
Pierce County - Community Care Ministries Food Bank
Pierce County - Eatonville Multipurpose Center
Pierce County - Edgewood F.I.S.H. Food Bank
Pierce County - F.I.S.H. of Puyallup Valley
Pierce County - Father's House Ministries
Pierce County - Fife/Milton/Edgewood F.I.S.H. Food Bank
Pierce County - Food Connection
Pierce County - Gig Harbor F.I.S.H.
Pierce County - Graham F.I.S.H. Food Bank
Pierce County - Jackson Street F.I.S.H. Food Bank
Pierce County - Josephs Storehouse for Living Word Assembly
Pierce County - Key Peninsula Food Bank
Pierce County - Lakes F.I.S.H. Food Bank
Pierce County - Ministries of Bread of Life Food Bank
Pierce County - My Sister's Pantry
Pierce County - New Jerusalem Food Bank
Pierce County - Salvation Army Food Bank Tacoma
Pierce County - Salvation Army Puyallup Food Bank
Pierce County - South Tacoma F.I.S.H. Food Bank
Pierce County - Southeast Asian Diets F.I.S.H.
Pierce County - Southeast Tacoma F.I.S.H. Food Bank
Pierce County - Spanaway F.I.S.H. Food Bank
Pierce County - Springbrook Mobile Food Bank
Pierce County - St Andrews Food Bank
Pierce County - Sumner F.I.S.H. Food Bank
Pierce County - TACS Special Diet Food Bank
Pierce County - Tillicum Food Bank
Pierce County - University Place F.I.S.H. Food Bank
Pierce County - Visitation
Pierce County - We Love Steilacoom Food Pantry

I just had to help a friend in WA who has recently gone through a divorce and also has medical issues. Sad that college students have to turn to food banks though.

This is certainly true for students, who usually struggle to buy food. They've also been hit with huge increases in tuition and school fees over the years. Many don't have the option of borrowing from parents, who may not have enough money themselves.

I was eligible for government subsidized food while attending Mizzou. I got a rather generous allocation of peanut butter, canned butter, hunks of cheese and some other miscellaneous stuff, like canned pork.

Money was tight and it helped a lot. I went from ramen noodles to grilled cheese sandwiches.