SLO Food Bank partners with Cal Poly Basic Needs to combat student food insecurity

On the fourth Tuesday of every month, Cal Poly students get in line on the Health Center lawn to pick up bags of free groceries from the SLO Food Bank. The food bank partners with Cal Poly Basic Needs in hopes of offsetting the rising cost of food, especially with the recent cutbacks on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding. 

Cal Poly construction management sophomore, Maddison Coibion, attributes the program to helping her manage the stress of food costs while also maintaining easy access to healthy options.

“It has been really cool because it helps me not have to stress so much about how much I am spending on groceries, and it allows to be able to get access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and knowing that the community and the school cares about our well being,” Coibion said.

In recent years, food insecurity among college students has increased, with about 3.8 million students nationwide struggling to afford their next meal, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Alyssa Reeder, a liberal studies senior at Cal Poly and a SLO Food Bank volunteer, said the recent cuts have encouraged her to get involved with the Food Bank.

“Things with EBT being cut down and funds for the food bank being cut down that is what made me want to volunteer,” Reeder said. “They are running out of those funds that they need and they need more people there to volunteer.”

The partnership between Cal Poly Basic Needs and SLO Food Bank allows college students to focus more on their academics rather than worrying about where their next meal is coming from. 

“It’s really about doing my part in the community, when everything around me just seems so negative at the time,” Reeder said.