Food insecurity is a problem at universities across the nation\u2014including Boston University. A 2023 survey found that, of the 41 percent of BU students experiencing financial hardship, 44 percent had difficulty affording food.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen it firsthand,\u201d says Kellie (Thomas) Finley-Call (STH\u201924). \u201cStudents shouldn\u2019t have to choose between buying food and paying rent, or between eating dinner and buying textbooks.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n While BU has a long history of addressing food insecurity among students, the office of Student Wellbeing expanded its food resources for students in 2023. It opened the BU Food Pantry to streamline existing food distributions and ensure that students facing financial hardship could access basic groceries. It also launched an online platform to share practical resources with students, such as where to find free meals on campus and in the community. <\/p>\n In September 2023 alone, the BU Food Pantry distributed nearly 2,000 pounds of food to students. To ensure its supplies could continue to meet student demand, the pantry launched a crowdfunding campaign in December. <\/p>\n By year\u2019s end, the BU Food Pantry had raised $52,946 from nearly 500 generous donors.<\/strong> That translates to a lot of groceries: $20 buys a student a week\u2019s worth of staple items; $50 fully stocks the rice shelf for a week; $60 fully stocks the peanut butter shelf for a week; $100 provides groceries to five students for a week; and $1,000 stocks the entire pantry for a week. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m encouraged by the impact we\u2019re making at the BU Food Pantry,\u201d says Anisha Erasani (Sargent\u201922, SPH\u201924), who worked in the BU Food Pantry as a graduate student. \u201cIn a recent survey, 89% of BU Pantry users says their needs were met by the food pantry.\u201d<\/p>\n Carrie Landa, executive director of Student Wellbeing, agrees. \u201cFood insecurity on college campuses is real,\u201d she says. \u201cBut Boston University is committed to supporting students\u2019 core and basic needs.\u201d <\/p>\n