詹妮弗·k·森田著

2023年11月8日

Hundreds of bags of food and healthy meal tips were distributed to students during 萨克拉门托 State’s inaugural Hornet Harvest Gathering on Nov. 8, an event sponsored by  爱玛客 Regional to combat food insecurity on campus.

爱玛客 is the University’s food services vendor. Earlier this year, it was approved to participate in CalFresh, the state’s monthly food benefits program for low-income individuals and families.

“We realized the need,” 爱玛客 Regional dietician Jenna Brott said. “We wanted to raise awareness and do our part to support students on campus.”

Nearly half of 萨克拉门托 State’s students qualify for financial aid.

去年，每天约有100名学生在联合学生公司（ASI）食品储藏室外排队，用新鲜农产品、主食、即食食品、健康零食和洗漱用品装满可重复使用的购物袋。

与去年相比，这一数字大幅增加，当时ASI食品储藏室为8700名学生提供服务，平均每周为167名学生提供服务。

今天，大约40%的萨克州立大学本科生面临食品不安全问题，ASI食品储藏室经理萨默尔·海耶斯说。

“With over 31,000 students on the 囊状态 campus, approximately one in 20 students utilize the ASI Food Pantry,” Hayes said.

学生们从上午11点半到下午1点，在图书馆的院子里分发了一份饭包，里面有大米、豆类、罐装蔬菜和新鲜农产品。

戴安娜·埃尔南德斯（Diana Hernandez）是家里第一个上大学的人之一，她说，在平衡所有课程的同时，支付食物和汽油的费用是一件很困难的事情。 她与父母和两个兄弟姐妹住在一起，因为他们都失业了，所以经济拮据。

“Their workplace shut down for renovations, so it’s always hard to balance the budget,” said Hernandez, who picked up one of the meal kits. “Honestly, I think this event is very beneficial. It shows me how the school is aware of our issues and does things to try and solve those issues.”

这些工具包还包括小册子，里面有各种各样的食谱，把食材变成营养丰富的食物，以及厨师示范视频和校园资源的链接。

营养学教授魏圣熙（Seunghee Wie）表示，解决粮食不安全问题的一个关键因素是教人们如何正确烹饪。

“Many studies now show that food insecurity is associated with not having cooking skills,” Wie said. “Even though we give out free ingredients, people don’t know what to do with them. So without teaching basic cooking skills, handing out food is not going to resolve food insecurity issues.”

CalFresh、ASI Food Pantry、危机援助和资源教育支持（CARES）、囊状态 Sustainability和营养、食品和营养学项目也出席了此次活动，为学生提供信息和资源。

萨克州立大学校长卢克·伍德（Luke Wood）的妻子伊达拉·埃辛-伍德（Idara Essien-Wood）帮助学生们前往大黄蜂收获摊位，并分发小册子。

“It’s so meaningful for me, knowing the struggles that Luke has talked about and how he would go around and collect change from the floor just to eat,” Essien-Wood said. “Programs like this help make it easier for students. … I’m just really happy to see this on campus.”

故事继续下图。

其他大学院系也在尽自己的一份力量来解决粮食不安全问题。

传统上，ASI在节日期间向有需要的学生和家庭分发感恩节食品篮。 然而，今年，食品储藏室不再为篮子募集食物，而是要求人们捐款，用于购买火鸡和感恩节晚餐的辅料。

ASI食品储藏室 在11月17日之前接受任何数额的捐款。

In addition, the 社区参与中心 has partnered with 河城食物银行 to distribute food to people in need on Nov. 17-18 and 21. 30名学生、教职员工自愿帮助人们从上午10点到下午2点在食品银行选择和运输食品。