Editorial Cartoon by Melisa Vallovera
Students are hungry —hungry for jobs, hungry for good grades and most importantly, they are hungry for food. Unfortunately, some students at Montclair State are just flat-out hungry. While access to food seems like an easy task, it has proven to be a worry for some students at Montclair State.
For some students, food insecurity has become a regular component of daily life. Food insecurity is defined as a lack of access to nutritious food, as well as an uncertainty as when the next meal will come. According to Feeding America, a nonprofit organization with a network of food banks, food insecurity plagues as much as 14 percent of those living in New Jersey. While food insecurity is a very foreign concept to some on campus, it is all too real for others.
However, Montclair State is taking a stand in ending hunger on campus with the first Montclair State food bank. It will be run entirely through the support of Montclair State’s generous campus community. April will mark the food bank’s first month of operation.
The new addition to campus hopes to feed students who run out of meal swipes, Red Hawk Dollars and Flex Dollars at the end of the semester or just find themselves in need of a meal, providing students in need with nonperishable foods as well as gift cards to local grocery stores.
Across the country, food banks are popping up on college campuses and to have one at Montclair State is only going to benefit students in need. The end of a semester is stressful enough with studying and finals, but it is even more stressful when students are concerned with where their next meal will come from.
Due to the convenient location in the Student Center, students will not have to travel far to get what they need. This food bank will assist students who need a helping hand and teach other students the value of helping others.
While hungry students are finally receiving the help they need, other students are finally getting the opportunity to take their meals to go. Dining halls like Sam’s Place and Freeman Dining Hall have always stopped students from leaving the dining hall with uneaten food. This has been long detested by busy students on run, which led to frustrated students stuffing sandwiches and other foods in their backpacks in order to get around the rule. Those days are over.
Students can now freely take food out of dining hall in new recyclable green containers. This allows students the freedom they need to take their food with them to class and avoid the lines at other facilities.
College promises students added freedom and now students are actually gaining that freedom. Students are constantly on the go and being forced to stay in one spot to eat a full meal is not conducive to their lifestyle.
Students’ lives revolve around food and Montclair State is starting to do the same.
