The UW Food Security Taskforce continued its efforts to improve the food resources across campus with its Every Poke Nourished! fundraising campaign.
Over $10,000 was raised by multiple contributors from April 4 to 11. Senior Nicole Morshead said that the campaign was a great success; the original goal was to raise $5,000.
“A lot of students utilize these resources and so we know that it’s definitely a need on campus,” Morshead said.
The Food Security Taskforce was created in 2019 with the goal of fighting food insecurity on campus and making sure that “Every Poke is nourished,” according to the organization’s motto.
A 2020 campus survey found that 37% of students at UW struggle with food insecurity in some form.
In response, the task force began creating more resources for students, including more food share pantries across campus, working with the ACRES student farm to provide fresh food to students, and implementing a meal swipe sharing program.
“I think it’s such a big way that college students could be helped and basically it is a human right to have access to food and I think that’s why it’s become such a hot topic,” Junior Walker Koberlein said.
“We want to make sure that all of our students are having their needs met so they can perform well academically too.”
Other programs that the task force is currently working to implement include a food recovery program in which students will be able to claim food leftover from events around campus, and an interactive online map of available food resources.
Junior Kami Grimm said that outreach is one of the task force’s main priorities now, and the interactive map aims to help students become more aware of the resources available to them.
The task force works with a variety of partners, including the sustainability coalition, ASUW, the student affairs office, and others across campus.
“It’s kind of a collaboration trying to ensure the most amount of change and that we’re all kind of working together,” Morshead said.
Junior Kami Grimm said that the task force is also focusing on creating equitable access to food resources.
“Indigenous students, Black students, any students of color, and any gender non-conforming, gender fluid, genderqueer students have a lot higher rates of food insecurity, so that’s another thing the food security task force is focusing on right now,” Grimm said.
Koberlein emphasized how food resources have grown on campus in recent years, saying that the number of food pantries has grown from two to 11.
Koberlein also said that partnerships between the sustainability coalition and ASUW are important in keeping food resource options sustainable into the future.
“It’s more focused on how we can keep these projects sustainable and how they can be here for a long time,” Koberlein said.
“That’s what we want to work on next year is finding ways to make sure that every cabinet on campus has the supplies they need and continue to outreach to all students.”
