主要研究 今天

It’s not unusual for college students to worry about paying for tuition, 房间, 伙食和书籍, 尤其是在新罕布什尔州, 哪里的平均学生贷款债务是全国最高的. But a recent survey shows that a surprising number of 主要研究 students also struggle to afford day-to-day essentials – food, 住所和往返校园或工作的交通.

将近2,去年春天调查了1000名主要研究学生, 20 percent said they have skipped at least one meal because they couldn’t afford it, while 15 percent said they would use a food pantry if there was one on campus, 11%的人报告说他们无家可归, 或者接近无家可归, 在他们的过去.

“There is a lot more need out there than people might imagine when they walk around 和 see this beautiful campus 和 all the students on their way to classes,琼·格卢廷说, 心理学临床副教授和主要研究的成员 学生基本需要 委员会. “但当你真正了解他们的时候, you realize that a lot of students are facing some real financial challenges.”

去年秋天，COVID-19将这个问题推向了高潮, when many students who had never needed or asked for help before suddenly found themselves running short of food, behind on rent 和 unable to travel home when campuses closed 和 transitioned to remote learning.

“This is personally important for Jan 和 me,” said President Jim Dean. 他和他的妻子, 杨院长, were early advocates for increasing support to students facing financial crises. “COVID-19确实向我们表明，这种需求的程度令人惊讶.”

在回应, the Faculty Senate passed a motion to create the Student Emergency Assistance Fund, 学生生活办公室发起并管理着这个项目, 它提供了快速的, 为有需要的学生提供临时经济援助. 一般来说，每个学生的奖金约为500美元.

近500名校友, 教师, 工作人员, 父母和朋友们纷纷捐款, 包括长期捐赠者摩根·拉特曼和他的妻子, 塔拉, 谁赚了25美元,000元配对礼物. 对 旅馆之间，提供紧急住房援助 主要研究富兰克林皮尔斯法学院 Student Emergency Financial Assistance Fund该机构帮助康科德法学院的学生.

在上个学年, 学生生活办公室发放了100多美元的资金,000人直接支持，近1,200餐通过 向前滑动该公司在食堂提供免费膳食. 在总, 该基金提供了大约29美元,去年秋天的学生资助, $11,一月份是600美元，现在是60美元,在春天，000.

今年秋天, the Basic Needs 委员会 is taking these efforts a step further with the creation of 主要研究’s first-ever student food pantry on the Durham campus.

保罗年轻, an 美国服务队VISTA worker brought to 主要研究 through a federal/state partnership, has been helping 主要研究 address food insecurity among students 和 in local communities since early last year. 合作伙伴包括 新罕布什尔州校园契约，  新罕布什尔装备联盟， 新罕布什尔学院和大学理事会 和 美国服务队VISTA. 今年4月，杨帮助推出了 食物再利用项目， 主要研究餐饮服务公司与 收集、 a food pantry 和 distribution network that’s been feeding families on the Seacoast for more than 200 years.

来自COLSA的食物再利用计划志愿者, Dining Services 和 Gather meet each week to prepare ready-to-eat meals from unused dining hall food 和 donated items 和 distribute it to local food pantries. During the program’s pilot phase, launched in April 2021, the team produced 200-300 meals per week.

The new food pantry on the Durham campus is expected to open in the Memorial Union Building during the fall semester 和 will be supplied from the New Hampshire Food Bank 和 Gather.