By Kristy Volmert | Staff Writer
The Student Food Security Council, which formed last fall within the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, is in the process of launching an on-campus food recovery network to help with student food insecurity and reduce the quantity of waste.
The SFSC is partnering with Baylor’s new food service provider, Chartwells Higher Education, and Food Recovery Network, a national non-profit. They will work with the dining staff to create a plan that reduces food waste and repurposes it for students struggling with food insecurity.
Waco junior Bella Burns, founder of the SFSC, is a student worker with the Baylor Collaborative. She said that the council meets weekly to discuss ideas about addressing and destigmatizing student food insecurity. They meet with the staff of Chartwells and The Store, Baylor’s student food pantry located near the Career Center in Sid Richardson.
“Currently, we are working on starting a food recovery network on Baylor’s campus where we will cool and repackage leftover food from the dining halls on a weekly basis and deliver it to our on campus food pantry,” Burns said.
She said they hope to ensure that no food goes to waste and everyone gets sufficient access to nutritious food.
Marcus Franklin, Baylor Collaborative’s marketing and communications specialist, provides guidance to the SFSC.
“One less student having to experience any level of hunger or food insecurity is a step in the right direction,” Franklin said.
According to Burns, Franklin wanted the Collaborative to be more involved on Baylor’s campus and strengthen its impact on students. Franklin helped Burns form the council, and together they selected students from an applicant pool.
“We need to bring in more student voices to speak into this social issue,” Franklin said.
As they begin the project, they will start with the Penland Crossroads and hope to expand the network to operate from all dining halls in the future, according to Burns.
“We hope to transport more meals inside and outside of campus to food pantries and other shelters in Waco,” she said. “Our council will also be pursuing other projects to normalize and expand the conversation of food insecurity issues.”
The SFSC is motivated by the initiative to improve both the environment and the community by cultivating leftover food into a student’s next meal and reducing environmental waste.
“Currently, all the leftover food that is not repurposed for the dining by halls is composted,” Burns said. “While composting is a noble effort, composting should be a last resort method for food that is expired or cannot be recovered.”
She said that a large number of students struggle with food insecurity because they do not have the transportation or money to go out to the grocery store.
“This issue could be solved with a little effort from students and staff, and because of this, we believe this is a noble cause to pursue,” she said.
The Store has ingredients, but scarce access to ready-made meals. The SFSC intends to provide The Store with meals to help reduce food insecurity.
Franklin wants students who struggle with food insecurity to feel heard and know that they are not alone.
“Vulnerability is hard,” Franklin said. “It’s not everyday that a student walks up to you and shares that they’ve been struggling to have consistent access to food. More often than not, students believe they are the only ones with this struggle.”
Franklin said that these initiatives will help cultivate a more positive collegiate experience by tackling problems that are often overlooked.
“Intrinsically, we know Baylor to be a wonderful university for learning, growth and development both inside and outside of the classroom,” Franklin said. “However, just as we hold these beliefs to be true, there are often outside factors that can negatively impact the collegiate experience. No matter the underlying cause, when a student experiences not just hunger but food insecurity, there are so many ways that student’s day-to-day life can be affected.”
