Kylee Harless
Online Editor
When I came to college, I did not think food insecurity was an issue. I have always had food on the table and my friends have had food on their table. This year, however, the story is different.
Food Insecurity is defined as a measure of availability of food and an individual’s ability to access it. According to Feeding America, every 1 in 9 Americans has food insecurity.
The question that has been circling in my mind is how can I have food insecurity when I have two jobs and make decent money at those jobs? Well my friends, wage and balance is what I have found to be my two problems.
Now to give a disclaimer, I do have food on my table. This article will focus more so on how I have two jobs and I still have to decide between paying my bills or putting food on my table.
Living off campus is stressful enough between paying rent, bills and buying groceries. The world is already set against off campus students. Now, I hear people saying living on campus is cheaper. However, after doing the math, it is not.
According to the Wyoming Scholarship and Financial Aid website, it costs students $4,606 for a dorm room and $6,032 for a meal plan. These are numbers for both instate and out of state students. That comes to $10,638 a year in room and board.
For me, living off campus with a roommate, I pay a little over $4,000 in rent and bills combined and then $2,500 for food if I did not eat out. I also have a $200 budget a month for groceries which I stick to really well. So all together I spend about $7,012 a year in rent/bills and groceries, give or take. I am paying close to $3,000 less living off campus but I still cannot keep food on my table.
I think back to what I could do to make it easier on myself. I could have gotten more scholarships, I could have done this and that. Even then, would that have made a difference? In an article posted by AffordableCollegesOnline.org, the article stated even students that have jobs and budget their money can still have food insecurity because college is just too expensive.
“In addition to the risk factors listed above, we can’t ignore the fact that college tuition rates are at an all-time high, while financial aid has not kept pace with the rising costs,” the article stated. “As a result, student loan debt has hit a record high. But even after using up all the available financial aid and taking out student loans, many college kids still have a sizable remaining balance to pay,” stated the article.
Even if I got more scholarships, I may still not get enough money back to stay afloat, because I do not have enough money to pay off my college debt. I guess you could say that I could take a personal loan out, but then I will have to make payments on it and if I do not have the money now, I doubt I will have it when the payment is due.
This is the balancing act I have to juggle as a college student. I hate it. I understand people when they say they cannot eat and I feel for them because now I am one of them. No college student should go through this.
Trying to find the balance of paying bills, having the internet to do my homework, and buying groceries is something no college student, or anyone for that matter, should have to juggle. This ratio of 1 in every 9 Americans that cannot put food on their table is down-right wrong. It may not be all college students, but it is still a ratio no one should be apart of.
There needs to be changes made so people can always have food on their table and not have debate between paying their heating bill or eating.
