After more than 20 years as an associate professor at the University of New Mexico Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, Amy Neel says she knows when her students don’t have their basic needs met.
“When I see a student sleeping in the first row of my class, it’s not because they’re bored or because they’re rude,” Neel, who retired in June, tells SFR. “If I talk to that person, I’ll find out that they had to work until 2 am at some low-paying job just so they can afford not just to pay the tuition, but to afford to live.”
She isn’t just anecdotally familiar with the issue of financial insecurity among college students. Neel also co-authored the recently released 2023-24 Student Basic Needs Report, which reveals significant findings about the well-being of New Mexico’s college students, most of whom return to classes Aug. 19.
Investigators collected data on food, housing and mental health needs from 13,837 New Mexico college students and school faculty and staff. They will release data on faculty and staff in the fall.
According to the report, of the nearly 10,000 New Mexico college students who participated, approximately 58% of them—surveyed at 27 two-year, four-year and tribal colleges—reported experiencing food insecurity. About 62% reported housing insecurity, and 14% were homeless in the past year.
Neel says when a student struggles to have basic needs met, the student’s academic life is negatively affected in turn: their grades drop, the student’s mental health worsens and the student becomes more likely to drop out.
“We often hear, ‘Oh, students are out partying when they should be working.’ They are working,” Neel says. “Two-thirds of our students are working, and another 17% aren’t working but are looking for employment. There is just a tiny percentage of students who aren’t working and aren’t looking for work.”
At Santa Fe Community College, where data from the report states 54% of students are food insecure, the Student Wellness and Student Engagement departments over the past few years have greatly expanded the offerings at the campus’ food pantry, aka the Campus Cupboard.
Just a few months after SFCC Student Involvement Coordinator Mary Eleas took on the task of managing the Cupboard in October 2021, it grew from one small closet at the end of the hall of the campus’ lower west wing to a three-suite section of the hall that stocks a variety of groceries, kitchenware and clothing.
Eleas says during her time managing the Cupboard, she expanded offerings according to the needs she saw. In year one, 60 or so household members used the pantry. That grew as organizers allowed staff and family members access. This year, she says that 8,123 household members benefited from the Campus Cupboard between Jan. 1 and July 26.
“That can show you the growth and the need this community college has,” Eleas says. “There’s nothing worse than a student being hungry and going to class hungry. We need that student to come in, not so stressed and be able to be focused on their education.”
Groceries fill two small rooms in one suite, including plenty of canned vegetables, meat and soups alongside a variety of noodles, beans and rice. A fridge and freezer allow the pantry to store perishable items. Some offerings are instant meals; some require cooking on the stove. Another suite is filled with tables of donated adults’ and children’s clothing, as well as a variety of cooking utensils (donated by Kitchenality).
SFCC Student Resource Coordinator Joanna Johnston, who took over Eleas’ responsibility managing the Cupboard in August, says she prioritized making kitchenware easily accessible to food pantry clients because some students “may be limited on space, have irregular access to electricity or don’t have the tools to make what [SFCC] provides.”
Johnston, who is also a student at SFCC studying human services, says that food insecurity has been a part of her own college experience.
“I began working at the Cupboard because I found the Cupboard through using it as a student and by stopping by every week to get my groceries,” Johnston says. “I was working part time at an animal rescue here in town. I was going there every week; that’s how I got to know [Eleas]…she has made a positive difference in a lot of people’s lives, including mine.”
Both Eleas and Johnston note that the Cupboard’s student employees have been “vital” to its growing success.
“Their willingness to make people feel comfortable and welcome—it’s important to them. Therefore, it makes everyone that walks in that door feel welcome,” Johnston says. “Assistance is provided with no questions asked. There is no need to justify, there’s no need for anything, it is provided with a smile on our face and a ‘Please come back and see us again.’”
In the future, Johnston says, she hopes to increase the amount of fresh foods available at the pantry; develop meal kits; increase infant supplies; bring in more household items; and, in her “dream world,” provide emergency pet food and supplies to students.
Less than three miles away, 86% of students at the Institute of American Indian Arts report food insecurity. According to the report, overall about 70% of Native American and 68% of Black students reported low food security.
IAIA Communications Director Jason Ordaz tells SFR via email that, “As an Indigenous-founded institution, IAIA continues to work with tribal and local partners to ensure that efforts to address increased food insecurity, and an ever-expanding range of student needs, includes educational initiatives, like Indigenous food workshops and farming practices through the IAIA Land-Grant Garden, that empower students with knowledge and skills for long-term food security.”
IAIA also has a food pantry open 24/7 within the Student Union building stocked with canned vegetables and soups, packets of instant potatoes and pasta meals, a small supply of plates and bags of toiletries.
Ordaz also describes the pantry as “heavily utilized,” and says the pantry’s usage has increased by 92% since fall 2021. He also notes that IAIA hosts weekly Food & Community Night events in which students are invited to share a home-cooked meal and partake in planned social activities together.
Despite the increase in students served at both SFCC and IAIA, Neel notes that the majority of food-insecure students typically do not use their college’s food pantry: only 29% of food insecure students in this year’s survey reported using a food pantry.
“Almost 40% of our students, even if they’re food insecure, said, ‘Other students need the help more than I do.’ They say, ‘I’m not sure whether I’m eligible to use the food pantry,’ or, ‘I don’t want other people to see me and know I’m food insecure,’” Neel says. “We still have a lot of work to do about publicizing and destigmatizing the use of resources, and those are things that staff members and even faculty members can do in their classrooms.”
The SFCC Foundation currently manages donations for the Campus Cupboard, and donors using the foundation’s website can specify if they would like their donation to be used for the Campus Cupboard. Those interested in donating to IAIA’s food pantry can email studentsuccess@iaia.edu to do so.
“We want to increase the number of people who have a college education, and we’re doing a fantastic job with access to institutions, but we’re struggling with retention and graduation rates in this state,” Neel explains. “If schools want to move the needle on retention and graduation, they have to concentrate on solving some of these issues that stem from a long history of financial insecurity among families in New Mexico.”