Food Insecurity Among Students Doesn’t Stop During the Holidays

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1/4/2019

CLEVELAND, WI —

For some college students, being able to afford school means going hungry at times, even over the holidays. To help ensure students at Lakeshore Technical College won’t need to go without meals, they were gifted with a free “Holiday Student SHARE Bag” the week of Dec. 10.

“The holiday season can be especially challenging for students who are responsible for keeping their own cupboards stocked,” said Tammie Stahl, LTC Student Engagement Specialist. “The SHARE Bags will help students who may otherwise find themselves needing to skip meals during their winter break,” Stahl added.

Thanks to a generous donation from the LTC Foundation, LTC staff were able to assemble 150 bags of groceries for students. Students who took the bags, valued at about $15 each, were able to put their limited financial resources toward other needs during the holiday season.

“Students often hesitate to access services that provide basic necessities due to the stigma that can be associated with doing so,” said Stahl. “We want to do all we can to erase that so our students feel comfortable seeking assistance, and can come to school well fed and healthy each day,” she added.

According to the Wisconsin Hope Lab, 42 percent of two-year college students are food insecure. This means they worry whether their food will run out before they have money to buy more, or they were hungry but didn’t eat because there wasn’t enough money to buy food. LTC students are not immune to the statistics.

The Holiday Student SHARE Bag effort complements LTC’s Student SHARE resource and other programs that address students’ basic needs.

All students have access to Student SHARE which is stocked with individual serving packages, easy-open, and grab-and-go food items as well as personal care items. In the 2017-18 school year, 433 visits were made by students. The holiday effort was prompted by a concern for students who may have planned to visit the resource over the college’s holiday closure period.

Student SHARE began last year in cooperation with the LTC Student Government Association and the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.  Funds donated by LTC staff, churches, as well as individual donations through the LTC Foundation keep it stocked.

Even in today’s strong economy, income from working multiple entry level jobs doesn’t always cover expenses. Technical education, whether earned through a certification or associate degree program, can boost incomes significantly in a short amount of time compared to a four-year program, and help students avoid food insecurity in the future.