Abstract
Multiple surveys show that a significant portion of American college students grapple with securing adequate and nutritious food. The most comprehensive annual survey found that 39 percent of college students report recent food insecurity. Though the number of campus food pantries in the U.S. has increased rapidly, relatively little is known about whether or how effectively they work. Prominent scholars in the field call for greater understanding of the pantry approaches and contexts most likely to help students. This study examines a campus pantry in the California State University system that is working – as evidenced by high satisfaction rates across race, class, and gender and significant levels of self-reported reductions in hunger and benefits to mental health, physical health, and academics – and asks what supports success. Analysis of qualitative interviews with students (n=19) and key staff (n=3) and student surveys (n=223) reveal four interwoven factors which facilitate the positive outcomes of the pantry – a set of guiding principles, practices for empowering and equipping staff, structures of accessibility, and sufficient food. The paper explores each of these factors and argues that perfection need not be achieved for a campus pantry to successfully serve students. I further examine the work of the pantry through the organizational framework of “inequality regimes” and conclude with reflections on how these four factors organizationally reinforce an “equitable regime” whose structure extends to and supports students seeking food at the pantry.
Presenters
Jill WeigtProfessor, Social Sciences Program, California State University San Marcos, California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
ORGANIZATIONS, INEQUALITY REGIMES, CAMPUS FOOD PANTRIES, FOOD INSECURITY, HIGHER EDUCATION
