MANSFIELD, Pa. – In an effort to address student hunger on campus, Commonwealth University received the Pennsylvania Hunger-Free Campus+ designation from the PA Department of Education. This designation also qualified CU to apply for grant opportunities, resulting in a $60K grant awarded to the university to address food insecurity on its campuses at Mansfield, Lock Haven and Bloomsburg. This was the highest amount – given to five of the 28 colleges and universities that received the grant in the 2022-23 academic year.
Former Gov. Tom Wolf successfully advocated
for $1 million to support postsecondary institutions’ efforts to
address student hunger needs on campus. This effort resulted in the
institutions being invited to apply for the PA Hunger-Free Campus or
Campus+ designation to demonstrate their commitment to addressing the
hunger needs and food insecurity for college students and diminishing
hunger as a barrier to learning.
Dr. Tiffany Welch, associate
professor of social work at Mansfield, wrote the grant and Dr. Amy
Downes, associate vice president for student success and campus life at
Lock Haven and director of the Haven Cupboard food pantry, assisted her
efforts.
“I was so excited to learn that we were being awarded
this grant because of the huge impact I know it will have in assisting
our learners with meeting their basic needs so they can stress less and
focus more on their academics, which is what all learners deserve,”
Welch said.
“No individual should have to go without food, ever,”
she added. “I am grateful that Commonwealth University recognizes the
negative impact that food insecurity can have on learners, and is
committed to doing all we can to address this ever-increasing issue in
higher education.”
“I want to thank both Drs. Welch and Downes for
their dedicated efforts in obtaining this grant to help fight hunger on
our campuses,” said Dr. Bashar Hanna, president of Commonwealth
University. “Too often we hear stories about students facing food
insecurity. This grant will go a long way in ensuring our students have
access to healthy food options.”
The grant will help the three
campuses with their objectives of expanding pantry services with food
purchases and refrigeration and upgrades to their existing facilities.
They also plan to create a more standard system for food delivery across
all campuses and supply sharing.
In addition, Welch and Downes
hope to strengthen oversight by establishing a Basic Needs Task Force
comprised of individuals from all three campuses; explore community
partnerships and alliances; become a COMPASS partner and connect
learners to eligible services; and increase and improve communication of
their services to CU students.
They also hope to partner with the
Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice at Temple University’s
#Real College Survey – an initiative to help ensure students can meet
basic needs at colleges and institutions around the country.
“This
grant will allow us to expand services and programs to better serve our
students who are facing food insecurity and hunger,” Downes said. “We
want our students to have access to healthy, nutritious food so that
they can focus on their learning and not be stressed about where their
next meal is coming from.”