4 resources Baylor offers for students fighting food insecurity

It’s not uncommon to hear someone joke about living off of ramen noodles during their college days. For many college students, however, an inability to afford nourishing food is no joking matter. At a private university like Baylor, it’s easy to assume that everyone has enough money for basic necessities like food, but not every student knows where their next meal is coming from — even Baylor students.

Baylor professor Nathan Alleman and doctoral candidate Cara Cliburn Allen, MS ’15, have studied the problem here at BU. Their research found that about 20% of Baylor students experience “food insecurity,” meaning they don’t have reliable access to nutritious food. (To be clear, this isn’t only a Baylor problem; universities around the country are fighting similar issues.)

In response, Baylor Student Success Initiatives (SSI) has taken steps to try and alleviate this stress for our own students. Baylor wants to make sure that access to nourishing food is not an added stress for our students; here are 4 ways students can access nourishing food on the BU campus:

1. The Store — This student food pantry, located in the Sid Richardson Building, provides students with supplemental food so they can have the strongest likelihood of achieving success. The Store is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Because we’re often asked: Donations can be brought directly to The Store, or given through their Amazon Wishlist.)

2. The Fridge — A supplement to The Store, The Fridge provides quick, free snacks and healthy meals for students by placing seven stocked mini-fridges across campus (even at Baylor’s nursing school in Dallas). Locations and hours can be found here.

3. Baylor Free Farmers Market — Every semester around finals, Baylor hosts a free Farmers Market, where students can come grab a full load of amazing groceries, free of cost. This event aims to combine food distribution with efforts to raise awareness about hunger, nutrition, wellness, and more.

4. Free Food Calendar — Lastly, Baylor SSI puts out a “Free Food Alert Calendar” each week to show students any opportunities they might have to grab some free food. This calendar is posted all around Sid Richardson for students to easily discover.

Sic ’em, Bears!

You might also like:
* How Baylor helps each student achieve his/her unique academic & vocational goals (Sept. 2019)
* Baylor expert’s new book offers hope for addressing America’s hunger crisis (Aug. 2019)
* 4 ways Baylor is fighting hunger and food insecurity (March 2018)