When Olivia Bowles began as a scholar at Tuskegee University, a traditionally Black establishment in Tuskegee, Alabama, she seen that the campus was in a meals desert — an space that has few choices for securing wholesome and inexpensive meals. According to Bowles, “It was a culture shock. I learned quickly that the only way I could get healthy foods was to drive to Auburn, but I didn’t have a car. I had to rely on friends to drive me to Walmart and Publix.” She added, The costs are increased round campus as nicely.” Bowles selected Tuskegee as a result of it met her standards for school — “being away from home, experiencing a new culture and meeting new people, and having a vet school” — plus she needed to attend a Historically Black Colleges or University (HBCU) — However, she didn’t go to campus previous to enrolling attributable to Covid, and didn’t understand Tuskegee was situated in a meals desert.

From the angle of Z.W. Taylor, a college member on the University of Southern Mississippi, “Many higher education institutions are located in either distant and remote rural areas or in densely-populated urban areas where grocery stores are few and far between.” And, in keeping with the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments, one in three college students expertise meals insecurity within the U.S.

Realizing that many faculty college students are eligible for federal help, Olivia, now a senior, walks new college students by the SNAP registration course of to make sure they’ve entry to wholesome meals. She volunteers with a company known as Bread for the World in her efforts to assist college students. Bread for the World works to carry gentle to starvation points all through the nation and the world. According to Bowles, “What drew me to Bread for the World after coming to Tuskegee was the lack of health foods in the area and the complexity of signing up for SNAP benefits. When you are in college, you want to make a change. Bread for the World promotes their mission on the Tuskegee campus.”

When serving to college students apply for advantages, Bowles tells college students: “If you aren’t making money or you are on work study, if you don’t have a meal plan, you can apply for SNAP benefits.” She added, “A lot of students are nervous because they know they need the SNAP benefits, but don’t know how to apply.”

Bowles shared that she has mates on the Tuskegee campus who closely depend on the eating corridor for his or her meal plan, however the cafeteria closes at 7 p.m. Student who’ve late extracurricular occasions can’t get a nutritious meal. According to Bowles, “Having SNAP benefits allows students to go to Walmart or the Piggly Wiggly for food.”

Although there may be usually a stigma about receiving public help, Bowles shared, “I think being on Tuskegee University’s campus, being in the Tuskegee city and being within Macon County, there isn’t much of a stigma. I worked at the local Piggly Wiggly, and people regularly use SNAP in grocery stores. If anything, students are proud to have SNAP as you aren’t wasting money.”

Hailing from Virginia, Bowles’ household did a farm share — a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) sharing program. They had contemporary vegatables and fruits. According to Bowles, “We did that 7-8 months of the year. I have a love for cooking and enjoy making meals.” Bowles added, “I was upset and angry about the lack of healthy food near Tuskegee. There’s no reason that children in this area don’t have healthy food options.”

According to David Street of Bread for the World, “Olivia is an exceptional advocate for people experiencing food insecurity – including students at Tuskegee University. Working alongside Olivia, I have been encouraged by how she has taken it upon herself to inform peers they are eligible to receive SNAP and then guide them through the process of applying for benefits. Despite her youth, she’s a strong voice uniting her classmates in urging Congress to pass a farm bill that improves SNAP and ensures everyone who is experiencing food insecurity has access to the program.”

HBCUs are often located in food deserts attributable to a long time of systemic racism in cities and rural areas. According to Bowles, “When I talk to friends who are at other HBCUs — we notice that many HBCUs are right outside of major cities but there’s little to eat — that’s healthy around them.” She added, “College towns surrounding PWIs have more options.” “I’d love to see HBCU combat this issue.”

Just earlier than the coronavirus pandemic, a survey of almost 167,000 college students discovered that for these scholar who struggled with meals insecurity (almost 40% of these surveys), fewer than 1 in 5 had been enrolled in SNAP. This leads many college students to resort to cheap, “nutrition-deficient diets consisting of foods like rice and Ramen noodles.” Students who lack constant entry to sufficient meals are much less more likely to graduate than their food-secure friends. Street believes “This is what makes the work that Olivia is doing so important.”

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