Courtesy The Food Depot
"This is a systemic problem," Sarita Cargas, associate professor at the University of New Mexico, tells SFR. "A lot of people in older generations don't understand what students are facing these days."
Last April, the UNM Basic Needs Project—a collection of experts, UNM staff members and community members—conducted a study on economic conditions for students at the university. Their report, Basic Needs Insecurity at UNM, found nearly a quarter of all students surveyed described themselves as food insecure, with 52% of Indigenous students, 48% of gay and lesbian students and 35% of Hispanic students describing themselves as unsure of when their next meal might come.
Such concerns have become a major focus for Cargas, who was a leader in the study and is intent on reducing the numbers.
"College tuition has risen hugely and family incomes have stagnated. [Food insecurity] is hugely stigmatized," she explains. "There's a direct correlation between graduations and food insecurity—and while correlation isn't causation, we keep asking why this is happening and we aren't talking about meeting their basic needs."
Sherry Hooper, executive director of The Food Depot in Santa Fe, feels Cargas' findings on the ground and on the regular.
"Government funded programs tend to be targeted to children under 18 or to senior citizens," Hooper says. "We do see a need from college students here."
As such, Cargas has teamed up with The Food Depot up for a talk on the study, in addition to a free online documentary screening of Hungry to Learn presented by The Food Depot, New Mexico First and Presbyterian Health Services. Directed by Geeta Gandbhir and produced by journalist Soledad O'Brien, Hungry to Learn looks into the complexities of college food insecurity and its impacts on overall health.
The causes are wide-ranging, from a lack of generational wealth to academic prohibition on outside work an international students struggling without work visas. Certain programs, particularly postgraduate, bar students from having outside work. The study found nearly 30% of postgraduate law students, who are among those barred, struggle with access to regular meals.
"Students are not yet sophisticated in managing money," Cargas notes. "It's hard to financially plan when you've got nothing and you've got no generational wealth. Thousands of students are independent on their own—students from foster care, older students or some with dependents or the LGBTQ+. FAFSA is outdated, and the Pell Grant used to cover 70% of student tuition—now it covers 30%."
Colleges and universities do make attempts for students to have better access to food. UNM has a food pantry, as does Santa Fe Community College, yet many of these systems were built for a pre-pandemic world, and the survey was conducted in the early days of COVID-19, well before the economic impact had fully been felt. Hooper warns that despite perceptions the economy will bounce back, food insecurity will likely trail for a long time afterwards—especially for college students. The Food Depot is preparing for that reality.
"We're in a recovery mode, but we're still seeing a big hunger response the pandemic," Hooper explains. "We don't expect that to go away any time soon. People may not go back to a full-time job for a very long time. People impacted the most are those in the hospitality and service industry—many of those people are college students. They can't work from home like some professionals can."
Cargas tells SFR that UNM took the report seriously, and set up a steering committee to find solutions and to enlarge its food pantry. For Cargas, there's nothing wrong with that, but she notes food pantries are a band-aid to systemic accessibility issues. Colleges, she says, should be more direct in how they offer assistance.
Hooper echoes that sentiment.
"When we see direct support to families in need, we do see a decrease in people coming in," she says. "It's directly impacting families, letting them catch up on rent. We've got to meet people where they are."
Cargas hopes colleges can start offering grocery gift certificates, making dining hall meals more accessible and allowing higher pay and more hours for students in work study programs. Outside of federal and state relief bills, however, there's not a lot of money to go around in a sagging economy. Pre-pandemic, The Food Depot had an annual food budget of $600,000. That's up to nearly $2.4 million now as nonprofits, shelters and corporate donations such as grocery stores—who once donated and distributed food items—struggle to make their own ends meet.
Meanwhile, demand for food assistance in New Mexico continues to rise. Hooper notes The Food Depot serves nearly 3000 people every day it's open, and many of are college students and young adults with dependents.
Senate Bill 370, a $5 million emergency food pantry appropriation, was introduced by Sen. Bill Tallman (Bernallio) last month. The bill's fate has yet to be decided, but in the meantime Cargas and Hooper are going on the educational offensive to educate New Mexicans about the severe battles college students face.
"These students are the ones taking the risks," Cargas says. "These students are courageous, trying to better their lives and their families futures. We need to support them."
Hungry to Learn's free screening streams until March 28. You can register for Hooper and Cargas' talk and get a streaming link here.
