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Student group wants to start food bank at USF

 
George Cappos, president of Feeding America at the University of South Florida in Tampa, organizes donations Friday that were gathered from boxes that students placed on campus.
George Cappos, president of Feeding America at the University of South Florida in Tampa, organizes donations Friday that were gathered from boxes that students placed on campus.
Published April 2, 2015

TAMPA — The hungry and sleep-deprived 20-something college student, subsisting on cheap ramen noodles and coffee, is a staple of jokes.

For Jasmine Edwards, a University of South Florida student now pursuing a master's degree, not having enough to eat was no laughing matter.

Edwards, 27, encountered food insecurity firsthand as a student at Hillsborough Community College. Despite working two jobs, Edwards couldn't fill her refrigerator after paying rent, car insurance and tuition, among other expenses. And the food plans that many colleges and universities offer cost far too much.

Edwards said the stress from juggling her responsibilities and worrying about her next meal eventually affected her performance in school.

"You can't think about school clearly when you're hungry like I was," she said.

The Feeding America student group at USF says Edwards' challenges are not uncommon in higher education. When it began its annual canned food drive this week, the group aimed to start a supply for an on-campus food bank to help the problem of food insecurity among students.

It hopes to partner with the university and open the food bank in the fall.

A 2014 national report from Feeding America found that about 3 million of its adult clients are students. With the rising cost of tuition, some students are finding it harder to make ends meet. Money for groceries is usually the most flexible part of a personal budget, and thus more likely to be cut.

Whereas many low-income families and individuals can appeal to the government for food stamps, most able-bodied students enrolled in a college or university at least half-time are not eligible for food assistance, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families.

When Edwards applied for food assistance in 2007, she had to claim her student loans as income. That put her over the eligibility threshold.

When she again found herself struggling to buy enough food after the birth of her son in 2012 — when she was taking almost a full course load at USF — she didn't even bother to apply.

George Cappos, president of the Feeding America USF student organization, said that is exactly when something like a student food bank on campus could have made a difference.

"One of the best things I think we can do for someone who is trying to ascend their lot in life by going to college is help them if they are struggling with food," he said.

The students with Feeding America are hoping administrators can help them get a food bank up and running by August. The students with Feeding America USF have offered to staff the location as volunteers, and to work with Feeding America Tampa Bay.

If it opens, the university will join nearly 200 schools across the United States that have created food banks specifically to serve their student populations.

Contact Roberto Roldan at hillsnews@tampabay.com.