In one of the most food insecure states in the country, the University of Mississippi Food Bank is partnering with residence halls, Greek organizations and other departments on campus to host Banksgiving, a holiday food drive to help give hungry students on campus access to food during the break.
“We’re hoping that those organizations can help to bring in a lot of donations for the holiday season,” food bank director Kate Reinhardt said.
Food bank volunteers said that it is important for students fighting hunger to have a place on campus where they can access food. Reinhardt said she decided to get involved with the food bank after researching food insecurity in Mississippi, when she learned that the price of a meal in Oxford is around 70 cents higher than the rest of the state.
“Students (are) having to adjust to the new prices, and Oxford is a very expensive place to live as well as paying for tuition,” Reinhardt said. “There’s just all these different things that they have to pay for, and the main priority that students should have is to focus on school.”
Students experiencing food insecurity might not be able to afford a sufficient amount of nutritious food.
A 2016 Hunger Report from Students Against Hunger found that 20% of four-year institutions experience very low food security, and 56% of first-generation college students were food insecure. A report from Feeding America found that 20% of Mississippians were food insecure in 2016.
Anywhere from eight to 20 students come each week to pick up food, food bank volunteer Connor Smith said. The food bank is open to faculty and staff as well, but Smith said he’s never seen a non-student come in.
The food bank also started accepting applications on Monday for its new meal swipe donation program, which allows students to donate unused meals from their meal plans and give them to other students.
The program had 10 applicants, who want to receive donated meal swipes, within the first two hours, Smith said.
The volunteer-run food bank is not open during Thanksgiving or winter breaks, but students can take as much food as they need beforehand to provide for themselves once the school shuts down for the holidays.
Most students who live on campus are forced to vacate their campus housing during the Thanksgiving and winter breaks unless they submit a request to stay on campus.
Residence Halls 2 and 3, Campus Walk and Northgate apartments, Luckyday Residential College and Residential College South are the only buildings that remain open through both breaks. All of the exclusively freshman dormitories close over the breaks, which leaves residents with no option but to return home or find another place to stay.
Those who do stay on campus will find all regular dining options closed on Thanksgiving Day.
Rebel Market will be open for the rest of the week and the Oxford food bank, The Pantry, will be open on Nov. 26.
Tex Boren, a Crosby Hall community assistant, filled out a request to stay in the building over Thanksgiving because their hometown is 10 hours away. Boren typically eats their meals in the student union and does not plan to eat at the Rebel Market during the break.
Instead, Boren plans to buy groceries and use the kitchen areas in Crosby to cook their own meals over the break, but is not opposed to using the food bank.
“I haven’t (used the food bank) before, but I’m a broke college student, (so) any food is best,” Boren said.
This is the second year that the food bank has held Banksgiving. Last year, one fraternity donated over 400 food items, and around 700 food items were donated in total. Reinhardt is hoping that this year’s drive will surpass those numbers.
