- One in 5 FSU students suffer from food insecurity
- FSU Food for Thought is a free resource students can use for food and hygiene products
- Watch now to hear from FSU Food for Thought organizer Haley Gentile
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Whether it's the stress of moving in, the big test or just piling homework, the last thing students then need is to worry about their next meal. I'm Alberto Camargo your Collegetown neighborhood reporter. A lot of students struggle with this on a daily basis, perhaps even more than you know.
FSU Food for Thought says 1 in 5 students at Florida State University deal with some level of low food security, and hundreds of Seminoles stop by the pantry every week.
"In the last week I've served about 470 unique students for about 650 total visits."
I spoke to Amari, who did not want to be on camera told me that she worries about her next meal several times a week, and that between school, work and other responsibilities, skipping a meal is a common thought.
For students like Amari, Food for Thought has several different kinds of food to offer.
"Rice, pasta, canned goods, that people might think of when they think of a food pantry, but we also have hygiene items, we have a little bit of snack food. When possible through Second Harvest we have fresh produce that was locally grown."
Food For Thought is open to FSU students five days a week on the fourth floor of the University Center A building. Gentile says come one, come all.
"I always encourage students to come in groups if that's how they feel most comfortable, so that it can be almost a social experience."
In collaboration with FSU SGA and the center for Health Advocacy and wellness, Food for Thought will be hosting a mobile distribution for students at the center of campus on Tuesday, November 7, bringing food access and nutrition information to them. In Collegetown, I'm your neighborhood reporter, Alberto Camargo, ABC27.
