University of Iowa Food Pantry Fights Hunger on Campus
PHOTO: JUSTIN TORNER/UI OFFICE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION
Student volunteers Charlotte Lenkaitis and Michelle Lu shop for food at a local grocery store to replenish the UI Food Pantry.
As tuition costs rise, food insecurity has become a pervasive issue on campuses nationwide. In 2020, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported 3.8 million college students had repeatedly eaten less than they should or skipped meals altogether. At the University of Iowa, 30% of students have reported food insecurity.
Nearly a decade ago, a group of Iowa undergraduates noticed many of their friends were struggling to afford food and opened the UI Food Pantry in response. Today, the pantry has moved from a small room in a back hallway of the Iowa Memorial Union to a prime space on the building’s lower level.
Located between the Hawk Shop and a tutoring center, it has benefited from added visibility. In 2023, 6,649 students, staff, and faculty used the pantry, a nearly 50% increase from earlier years. “When we open on Tuesday morning,” says Steph Beecher (10MA), the basic needs coordinator who oversees the food pantry, “there is often a line of 50 or more people waiting.”
Anyone with an Iowa ID card can make a weekly visit to the pantry, which resembles a small market. The only checkout required is a weigh-in, so staff can track how much food has been shared. Common finds include dry goods, dairy products, and hygiene items.
Most of the shelf-stable food comes from a nearby food bank, but the pantry buys fresh fruit and vegetables directly through its modest budget. “If we had more outside funding,” says Beecher, “we’d definitely spend it on fresh produce and items for people with food allergies.”
Led by student workers and volunteers, the pantry staff ensures all clients feel welcome. Since international students and first-generation students are the groups who use the service the most, it works to provide food from a variety of cultures.
Beecher says the pantry provides an important service beyond food assistance. “The staff and clients have built a strong community,” she says. “It’s just a really good vibe in there.”
PHOTO COURTESY FOOD PANTRY AT IOWA
Why Do College Students Face Food Insecurity?
Katharine Broton, an associate professor at the UI College of Education who studies poverty and material hardship among college students, notes that students have struggled to meet their basic needs for as long as higher education has existed. A decrease in college affordability has exacerbated the problem.
“Just a generation or two ago, you could work your way through college,” says Broton. “That’s impossible now.”
When adjusted for inflation, in-state tuition at public universities has increased 45% in the last 20 years, according to U.S. News & World Report. Meanwhile, financial aid has not kept pace as lower-middle class students have entered college in greater numbers, most without a financial safety net.
Broton, who co-edited the book Food Insecurity on Campus: Action and Intervention, is enthusiastic about the growth of campus food pantries and other institutional responses to food insecurity, such as donating unused dining hall meal swipes. She also believes more should be done to address college unaffordability.
“Resources like food pantries and meal vouchers are essential because students need help today, but they don’t actually solve the problem of food insecurity,” she says. “They’re not designed to end hunger. For that, we’ll need a systemic approach.”
