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Volume 13 | Issue v | CENTRAL BAPTIST COLLEGE | Conway, AR | March 13, 2020 | thecbctower.com
Food insecurity
Raising awareness within the college community
Katie Beth Fly
Reporter
T
he idea of living off of nothing
but Ramen noodles is often
humorously associated
with college students. However,
imagine taking the thought a step
further with having multiple days
where one hardly eats at all.
According to a study conducted by
the Urban Institute, this is a reality
for many college students today.
Approximately 11% of the homes of
students going to a four-year college
experience food insecurity, defined
by the study as a lack of quality and
access to food.
Rachel Whittingham, division
chair of learning resources at CBC,
elaborates on the issue.
“It’s not that they don’t have food,
necessarily,” Whittingham says,
“It’s that food is, for example, the
last thing they spend money on, so
they’re forced to go without a lot of
nutritional food.”
Freshman AJ Woodraska has no
trouble relaying his own experiences
with food insecurity.
“When I first moved [from Illinois
to Arkansas], I went from working
full-time to trying to find a job,
and I thought I’d be able to find
one in my field,” Woodraska says,
“but they were really looking for
full-time employees, not part-time,
and with my school schedule it just
wasn’t going to work out, so finding
What’s Inside look
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anything to eat was very rough for a
while.”
Woodraska says that since he’s a
non-traditional student who lives in
the dorms, he has no meal plan at the
dining hall. He’s received food from
others, including his roommates,
which is how he’s gotten by the
entire year.
“Usually, someone would bring
me a sandwich or something, or I’d
get a couple of bucks, run to the
dollar store, and buy a carton of eggs
and a pack of hot dogs,” Woodraska
says.
Dusty Bender, chair of the
humanities and arts division,
describes living off of great northern
beans, bologna and sandwiches every
day for a year after his father lost his
job.
“We were really lucky, because
you could buy this big club-looking
thing of bologna, so we would have
that.” says Bender, “We would take
one of those and make sure it would
stretch for about a month, and then
we would eat great northern beans.”
Bender says he didn’t think of it
much when he was a kid, but that he
believes food insecurity is a more
profound issue today.
“We have some people in my
Sunday school class that work at
Bethlehem House, and we feed meals
to people that are hungry, and we
don’t see those numbers declining.”
Bender says, “We see those numbers
getting larger and larger all the
time.”
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Relationships affected by
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Campus News | Page 3
he
ower
Issue two:
Health
Do you not know that you are God’s temple
and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
- 1 Corinthians 3:16
Facts and stats
In the state of Arkansas
4 out of 10 students
Bender says that others need to Whittingham says. “They can’t
struggle with low
become more aware of those that may
be struggling.
concentrate, they’re not being fed
nutritionally, so they just can’t food security
“As I talked to one student, he focus.”
said ‘I’ve been told all my life never Woodraska says that although 47% of students are
Created by Jocelyn Waters
to take a handout.’ Well, sometimes he knows how to handle himself, uncomfortable asking their
we have to take a handout.” Bender sometimes he wonders if other family for food
says. “We need to be a little bit more students would be able to deal with
open to see people that have that a similar situation in which food was
need out there, and marshal whatever scarce. 53% 47%
resources we can.” “The one thing that bugs me,
Whittingham believes that many beyond anything else, is when
CBC faculty members are working people start throwing away food,
2nd highest out of 50
states
hard to personally meet students’ or they complain about the quality
needs, but that a food pantry would of the food in the cafeteria,”
benefit those who are struggling. Woodraska says, “Like, you’ve got where residents struggle with
“Students who go hungry no idea. You don’t.” food insecurity
don’t succeed. They just don’t,” info by service.uark.edu
Photo illustration by Haley Lingenfelter
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Centerspread | Pages 4-5 Editorial | Page 7