Holiday season is upon us and WCU students are getting ready for feast and fun with their families. But, not all of WCU students or local residents will be happy and overstuffed with too much food.
Western Carolina University Center for Service Learning partnered with the LEARN Program to do a week of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness during November to bring into focus some of the complex issues and circumstances surrounding hunger and homelessness in our communities.
According to the Director of Center for Service Learning, Lane Perry, 1 in 3 of WCU students are unsure of where their next meal will come from on a monthly base. This is based on research done by upper-level social work students in 2017.
“Our Cullowhee campus experiences food insecurity on a monthly basis at roughly 30 percent. Based on 2018 research on our Biltmore Park campus, the same is true. These studies have helped lead to food pantries being established on both campuses,” Perry said in an email.
Intern, Jorge Arcos, from Homebase showing off the free student pantry. Photo by Mary McCay.
With the Hunger and Homelessness week, as Perry explained, the goal is to increase awareness and provide pathways for engagement through stepping up to do something about the issue. In addition, they were able to take action by collecting items to help the homeless.
“Donations were accepted in the form of non-perishable foods for the Biltmore Park Food Pantry, school supplies for our Learn Program, and clothing for a variety of community partners such as the SonRise Kitchen in Asheville and Homebase here on campus,” graduate assistant for the Center of Service Learning, Tyler Melvin, said.
This study has led to food pantries that have been established on both the Cullowhee and Biltmore Park campuses. The Cullowhee food pantry is located at Homebase next to the Cullowhee Baptist Church and the Biltmore Park pantry is located on the 3rd floor in the Biltmore campus.
Director of Homebase, Jim Dean said, “On any college campus, there are 100+ students who have been through foster care that have recently left the system, are homeless, orphaned or do not have any parent support, and do not have a place to call home.”
In 2015, Homebase was created by a joint partnership between WCU and the Baptist Children’s Home to establish a place where students who feel that they have been stigmatized have a place to call home and are welcomed with opened arms. This building also is used as a student ministry and where other clubs and organizations can get together.
According to Dean, around 400 students come to Homebase in a week, which has nearly doubled in the last three years.
“WCU Homebase is one of only two schools in the state that offer a service such as this and that is why we are so dedicated to helping those students and giving them a place to call home, when they do not necessarily have a parent or guardian to help them,” Dean said.
They offer many services to students with interns on site 24/7 to help. Whether they need someone to simply talk to, pick up some groceries for the week, need help finding something to wear for a job interview, need a ride to and from a doctor’s appointment, or need a place to stay over Christmas break, Homebase is there to help.
However, not many WCU students are aware of this statistics. “I am honestly surprised by that and it makes me sad for those students who are having to deal with that on a daily basis. If I did not have a meal plan on campus, I might be in the same situation as them,” student, Kimber Ward, said.
A recent study at North Carolina State University, done by psychology professor Dr. Mary Haskett, found that around 14 percent of NC state students reported low or very low food security within the past month; 9.6 percent of respondents reported experiencing homelessness over the past year, most frequently staying with others temporarily or sleeping in outdoor locations; and 25 percent of those who had experienced homelessness in the past year also reported being food insecure in the past 30 days. The results from WCU and NC State studies are lower then the statistics on a national level. According to a study in 2018 by researchers at Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab, 36 percent of students at 66 surveyed colleges and universities do not get enough to eat, and a similar number lack a secure place to live.
WCU is not only catering to WCU students needs. The Center for Service Learning has teamed up with the Community Table in Sylva and helped with volunteers and providing food and donations for the local community. As the Assistant Director of the Center for Service Learning, Amanda Hanson, explained another service to help students and people of the community who need a little extra help.
Guests who come to the Community Table will have a unique experience unlike most food kitchens because guests are served in a restaurant-style setting with no long embarrassing lines. In addition, they have a fully stocked pantry for Jackson County residents where families and students can come grab some groceries when money is running low for the week. Most importantly, the Community Table wants to reach out to the students who do not think they need any help, that they can get by without it, and let them know that it is okay to ask for help, according to Executive Director of the Community Table, Paige Christie.
“In 2017, 28 percent or 11,128 Jackson County residents came through our doors looking for help and our mission to all those people is to provide nutritious meals, in a welcoming environment, to our neighbors in need and to make sure that no one in Jackson County goes to bed hungry,” Christie said.
As the holiday season is here we hope that this season is good and plentiful for everyone.
