Click here to read the 3rd Annual Assessment of Food Security and Basic Needs Report
We are honored to present the 3rd Annual Assessment of Food Security and Basic Needs at Santa Clara University for the 2022 – 2023 academic year. This report is a continuation of the ongoing study conducted by Dr. Chris Bacon and a dynamic, diverse, and talented student research team. After initial inspiration and work launching this project with Chloe Gentile-Montgomery, this study has continued to identify high levels of student food insecurity on campus, and a need for improvement in the provision of basic needs resources so that SCU can successfully respond to this issue .
This year the team recruited a sample of 749 student respondents from both graduate and undergraduate programs, a much larger sample size than the past two reports. One reason for this significant increase in the response rate could be due to changing COVID circumstances and students return to campus. This study found that more than 1 in 3 students surveyed had self-reported having experienced food insecurity while attending SCU. The specific percentage of food insecure students from this survey is 35.25%. This is a truly shocking statistic, as the number has nearly doubled since 2020. If extrapolated to the total number of students experiencing food insecurity on campus, this would amount to 3150 students on campus of SCU’s ~9000 undergraduate and graduate students, almost double the size of the freshman class of 2026, the biggest in SCU’s history.
This year the student research team partnered with Kimberly Gilkey and the SCU Food Security Program to craft research goals and determine avenues of research that would also benefit the SCU Food Security Program. After reviewing the literature and their initial meetings with Kim, including a visit to Bronco Pantry, the team also decided to investigate the concept of cultural relevance in the Bronco Pantry and in nearby food environments. This includes the food items themselves and how the pantry is organized. Another topic that emerged was investigating students’ access to other resources, such as CalFresh, SNAP, and additional basic needs support. The research team also conducted case studies about the food security programs at other universities, such as UC Santa Cruz. However, the SCU Food Security program is in a unique position, as it currently does not have access to the student basic needs funds provided by the California state government to public schools. This report not only continues the ongoing research done in past studies, but also delves deeper into these complexities of food insecurity at a private institution such as SCU
In addition to the high levels of food insecurity, our main finding in this study is the immense amount of work that remains to be done within the food system at SCU. This includes reevaluating how information about food-related resources is shared and spread amongst students, reducing the stigma associated with food insecurity, and addressing the problems within the on-campus dining hub, Benson Memorial Center. These problems include the meal points system itself, as well as the variety and price of food served within the cafeteria. Most importantly, the disparities between students from marginalized groups and the rest of the student body must be dealt with in order to remove this burden from the shoulders of vulnerable students. An in depth analysis of the issues as well as potential solutions and more can be found in our report.
Authors: Antonio Amore Rojas, Madeline Pugh, Erica Svendahl, Jules Holland, Katie Duffy, Paola Felix, Taylor Key, and Kimber Wood