Rowan College of South Jersey was the setting for a college hunger forum on April 4 that was hosted at the college’s Gloucester County campus and sponsored by the Community Foodbank of New Jersey, the Food Bank of South Jersey, the Hunger Free New Jersey program and the New Jersey Council of Community Colleges.
The purpose of the forum was to address food insecurity faced by students, staff and others and explore ways to interact with legislators and community leaders on solutions.
Among those in attendance was Lisa Pitz, director of Hunger Free New Jersey, who spoke on the heart of the issue.
“According to the New Jersey office of the Secretary of Higher Education, one in three students in New Jersey lack consistent access to adequate food sources, and that’s based on a survey from spring of 2024,” she said.
“We have so few of our likely eligible college students getting SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), according to the Government Accountability Office,” she added. “They estimate that fewer than two in five food-insecure students met SNAP eligibility criteria, but six in 10 students who are both food insecure and likely eligible for SNAP are not participating.”
The event was split into three panels, each with a different voice addressing the subject. In attendance were college and university students who have themselves faced food insecurity and kept their last names private: Laura O., a health science/nursing pathway student at Rowan Gloucester County; Juan T., a psychology major at Rowan’s Cumberland County campus; and Melissa L., a sociology major with a minor in public administration at Rutgers University’s north campus.
“I’ve been looking – searching – for a home, and I found it here at Rowan College, honestly,” noted Juan. “Growing up, I had a lot of friends who were afraid, or shy – or embarrassed, really – that they were from families that had SNAP. I saw bullying happen in schools (over it) …
“That can really damage someone’s dignity, you know?”
Other attendees and speakers included state Assemblymen William Spearman and Cody Miller; Mark Dinglasan, executive director, New Jersey office of the Food Security Advocate; Maura Sanders, chief counsel for Public Benefits, Legal Services of New Jersey; and Jake Farbman, executive director of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges.
The event concluded with Farbman encouraging involvement in the Hunger Free Campus Network via its website at Hunger Free New Jersey.
“We’ve got to make sure that students have every tool they need to be successful in their program, so they can earn a degree or credential to get a job that pays a family-sustaining wage,” he noted. “If your purpose is to help with economic liberation, we want you to join the Hunger Free Campus Network.”
