In honor of World Food Day, this Tuesday Times Roundtable discussed an article from the New York Times, “Have You Ever Experienced Food Insecurity?”. This discussion was led by Joanna Garcia - Center and Leadership Service and Dr. John Buschman - FIU Hospitality. World Food Day was established by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945. Since then, it had been celebrated each year on October 16th.
The United Nations has set 17 sustainable development goals to achieve a better sustainable future. The first goal has to do with poverty which leads to food insecurity. The goal is to eradicate extreme poverty for all persons around the world by 2030. The second goal has to do with the zero hunger movement in which they would like to end world hunger, end all forms of malnutrition, and double the agricultural productivity by 2030. The third goal has to do with the good health and well-being of individuals.
Food insecurity is having a lack of access on a regular daily basis to enough nutritious food for an active, healthy life for everyone in the household. The U.S. households by food insecurity in 2018, had an overall 11.1% for the national average. It was shocking to discover that here in South Florida, our overall food insecurity was 11.6% which is higher than the national average. It also came as a surprise that the food insecurity percentage for children was even higher with 18.9%.
There has been an increased need for emergency aid programs that are being granted to colleges and universities. The most prevalent type of emergency aid is the food pantry. The food pantry was established to serve students who are experiencing food insecurities. We have two student pantries located on both campuses at FIU and the food items are available to enrolled students. The demand has increased throughout the years as well as the awareness to students that there is a food pantry available to them.
Having food insecurity affects your studies as it is hard to sit down through a study session, classes, or to carry through the day when you are hungry. Yes, there may be vending machines on campus, but that is only s short term fix to a long term problem. It is hard to be successful when you have to constantly worry about where you get your next meal. There has been a correlation between a lack of performance and food insecurity. When students’ primary needs are not being fulfilled, how will they be able to perform well in their academic studies as food insecurity undercuts academic performance? Hunger weakens students’ sense of belonging and undercuts their social, emotional, and physical well-being.
I too experienced food insecurities many times in my life as well as while being a student at FIU. There were times where I did not have enough money to buy food on campus and would have class from 9:30 AM-6:45 PM. There are times where I would starve and would not be able to perform well in my classes due to constantly being hungry and weak. It is not a good feeling and feels like your body is shutting down on you. The only thing I would look forward to is coming on campus for the free pizza. I would follow the engagement pages on Instagram (IG) and see what time they will host their events on campus and I would wait in line to get my free pizza. I sometimes would join some clubs for socializing so that I can have some food during my stay on campus. I did not find out about the food pantry until my last year at school. I was a transfer student, but maybe I could have gotten a snack from the pantry to help satisfy my hunger all those times on campus.
Furthermore, I wanted to give back to those who were combating food insecurity. I started donating goods to the food pantry. I am president of the pre-PA club and I organized a food drive where students can bring nonperishable items and canned goods to drop off at the food pantry on campus. This event was a success and it gave me a sense of pride and accomplishment to be able to give back to students who were facing hunger or food insecurity. Another event that I participated in was the Ronald McDonald House of Charity where we cooked a breakfast meal to serve the individuals and families that were living in the facility. It was an amazing opportunity to be able to dedicate my time to those who are less fortunate and being able to provide them a nutritious meal. Lastly, I volunteered with Miami Rescue Mission where I served a Thanksgiving Banquet to the homeless people in the community on Thanksgiving Day. It opened my eye to the amount of homeless people there were living in this community. It was very nice of them to be able to prive them all meals to the homeless and needy as well as providing them with showers, hygiene kits, and clothing. I felt very accomplished that I took the time out of my own Thanksgiving Day to help those who really need it and do not have families to spend their time with during the holidays.
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