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Hunger Has An Effect On Everyone, Including College Students

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 Hunger Has An Effect On Everyone, Including College Student According to the Hope Center, over 35% of college students face food insecurity during their time at university. There are many factors that can lead to food insecurity for college students. Feeding America outlines several factors that may cause students to worry where their next meal is going to come from. These can range from high tuition cost to weird dining hours. All off these can not only affect the student, but also it can affect their grades. College hunger can be prevented, all it takes are for the people with resource to see a need and fill it. This need doesn’t have to solely be filled monetarily. Affordable colleges offers some ways to help hungry college students.  You can donate your time by teach college students how to budget. You can donate cans to college food pantries. You can even start fundraisers in students names to help them.  College Students Fridges And Available Food On Campus College...

Snack Pak 4 Kids: A Positive Impact on the Texas Panhandle

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 By: Corrin Davis  Our brain processes thousands of thoughts per day. Usually, those thoughts pertain to work and family. Things that tie to our everyday lives. For many people, the thought that never crosses their mind is “Will I get to eat today”.  According to Feeding America , 34 million people in the United State of America are suffering from food insecurity and 9 million of them are children. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic that struck our country back in 2020, the numbers have increased significantly.  Children who experience hunger are impacted mentally and physically which is detrimental to their ability to learn at school. They suffer from fatigue, they have trouble staying focused, and they record poor attendance.  Dyron and Kelly Howell have created hope for the ones who live in the Texas Panhandle.  People in the Amarillo, Texas community felt the couple’s impact starting in 2010 when they collected snack bags for 10 students who attended Will Rog...

Healthy Foods & The Cost of Trying to eat Healthy (Brae Foust)

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Why does it always seem like getting fit is impossible, not just for college students, but anybody in general?  Not only does it feel like that, but why does it also seem like getting fit also costs a new mortgage payment on the house just to eat right?  Is this a reason for obesity numbers to skyrocket amongst young people? These are just a few questions I stumbled upon while researching about healthy foods and why it feels impossible to get or consume.  Wondering myself why a trip to McDonalds to get a couple McDoubles feels better and easier on the wallet than making, or even purchasing, a meal better suited for the human body.   In this article, we will be looking at a different variety of sources revolving around healthy choices for, mainly college students, but also for the public in general, including a testament from a fellow student and her struggles with healthy eating, hindsight from a restaurant owner serving up some healthy dishes, and oth...

The past present and future of the High Plains Food Bank

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 By: Jeanine Fabbri  The High Plains Food Bank hosted a luncheon, “Harvest of Hope”, to celebrate four decades of being able to provide food to residents in the Panhandle.    In the luncheon, the food bank members discussed their challenges due to the pandemic and inflation, but through the help of so many of their community partners and through the help of so many people who have worked so diligently at the food banks they have distributed 8.2 million pounds of food throughout 29 counties across the Texas Panhandle in 2021.    Jamie Singleton was a former executive director at the High Plains Food Bank and has worked there for 17 years. Many new programs started during her tenure in 1999 and $1.3 million capital campaign was started to expand the food bank by 40,000 square feet. In 2003, another capital expansion of 11,200 square feet of stage building and four freezer space was added all of this to help meet the need of hunger here in our community. ...

Government food assistance not enough for families

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 By: Blass Guerrero Gas and food prices have increased as inflation continues to rise this year and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Some have no choice but to purchase high-cost of food while others try to look for cheaper options.  According to the United States Department of Agriculture , 82% of Americans are eligible for the Food SNAP Program, 74% are working poor, and 42% are elderly. In the state of Texas, 75% are eligible, and Texas comes second in the nation with the highest number of households using the SNAP program, with 1.1 million people.  In the city of Amarillo , 9,115 people, or 12.1% of the population, receive food stamp benefits. In an interview with The Hill , Jordan Teague, policy director at anti-hunger organization Bread for the World, says families with lower incomes will be impacted first. “If people need to pay rent or they have a medical bill, they have to make tough decisions about what they’re not going to pay for, and frequently ...

First Generation college student hunger

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 By: Sierra Dawson                                          First Generation College Student Hunger First generation college students face more food insecurity then second generation. Research shows that 49% of first-generation college students face hunger compared to 39.6 of second generation. I interviewed four different first-generation college students, all who feel they were not prepared for the college life. Had no idea what it was going to be like and what the struggles they will face. Two of them have chosen between paying a bill or eating before. Three out of four work fulltime just to get by. Two out of the four have had to take a semester off of college just to catch up on life and not struggle. Living on campus and having access to a cafeteria helps a student who doesn’t work but is a lot of times unavaible for those who do. Jason Mazonella is an education major at A...

Covid-19, Stigma, and Money are the leading Causes Food Insecurity in college students

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 By Jarrod Murray College students are facing a variety of reasons for going Hungry and worrying where their next meal comes from. There are a handful of students that are victims of being food insecure may it be for long or short periods of time. According to Health Affairs 30% of all college students have personally gone through being food insecure at some point.  A pandemic can change the lives of many and this is especially true when it comes to students across America.The results of the pandemic made it harder for students to consistently eat. A study found by F ood Tank discovered that 59% of students reported that they became less food secure as a result of COVID-19.  during and after the pandemic may jobs were lost this was one of the main reasons for not being able to buy food. According to the Hope Center , “about one in three respondents to the spring 2020 during the pandemic survey indicated they had lost a job because of the pandemic.” The 2019 survey by th...