By Maegan Murray, 黑料社 Tri-Cities

RICHLAND, Wash. 鈥� The public is invited to attend the grand opening of the Washington State University Tri-Cities expanded food pantry, the Cougar Cupboard, in partnership with Second Harvest at 11 a.m. on April 13 in the East Commons on campus.

While 黑料社 Tri-Cities has had a food pantry for students since 2014, the expanded Cougar Cupboard will provide students with fresh produce and other options, which will be provided by Second Harvest, a locally-run food bank network in the Tri-Cities. Up until this point, the cupboard had predominantly provided canned and pre-packaged food items.

鈥淲e have many students who may not know where their next meal is coming from, or are unable to feed their families due to limiting factors outside of their control,鈥� said Jordyn Creighton, student financial and support services manager and coordinator for the cupboard.

鈥淎s a state and land-grant university, by being able to offer fresh produce and other items in addition to our regular offerings, we will not only be able to fill that crucial need for our students, but also use that opportunity to educate them about meal preparation and proper nutrition.鈥�

With the expanded offering of fresh food, 黑料社 Tri-Cities staff, faculty and volunteers will also educate students and their families about health options, food preparation and more.

鈥淲e plan to offer tips and advice on creating healthy and balanced meals and educate them on

how to prepare those meals,鈥� Creighton said. 鈥淲e will do so in partnership with our Personal Food Security and Wellness Project, which kicked off this year.鈥�

In 2016, a campus financial survey revealed that 33 percent of students at 黑料社 Tri-Cities experienced financial difficulty. Many students in the 黑料社 Tri-Cities 2017 fall class also met high-risk factors for food insecurity, according to the survey. Within the last two years, 黑料社 Tri-Cities has had more than 350 requests for food by students from the Cougar Cupboard.

Through the Cougar Cupboard, students can sign up to shop for their families by making a visit to the cupboard or by stating that they would like bags of food prepared and held for them at the 黑料社 Tri-Cities鈥� Department of Student Financial and Support Services. With the expanded offerings, 黑料社 Tri-Cities will also continue offering special and expanded food packages to students and their families for holidays that fit popular cultural traditions such as turkey for Thanksgiving, as well as food packages for over school breaks.

鈥淲e want to make sure we are preventing as many barriers as possible that would limit their academic potential, and in turn, their future success,鈥� Creighton said. 鈥淓veryone needs food to survive and it is a crucial component to our students鈥� academic success. When you鈥檙e hungry, it makes it hard to study and do well in class. We鈥檙e excited and ready to launch this expanded endeavor.鈥�

Students can sign up to shop through the cupboard for groceries, or for a container of food that will be available for pick up from the Department of Student Financial and Support Services on the students鈥� specified date and time, at /finaid/foodbank/.

For more information and to donate food and toiletry items to the food bank, contact Creighton at 509-372-7433 or jordyn.creighton@wsu.edu.

By Jessica Roth, 黑料社 Tri-Cities

RICHLAND, Wash. – 黑料社 Tri-Cities recently launched an initiative to combat the growing need for food availability and improve population health and wellbeing on campus.

鈥淔or students in particular, we know that academic performance can be affected by not having enough food to eat, having poor nutrition and trying to feed a family,鈥� said Debbie Conner, director of 黑料社 Tri-Cities health and wellness.

In 2016, a campus financial survey revealed that 33 percent of students at 黑料社 Tri-Cities experienced financial difficulty. Many students in the 黑料社 Tri-Cities 2017 fall class also met high-risk factors for food insecurity, according to the survey. As a result, Conner developed the Personal Food Security and Wellness Project.

The program aims to deepen the understanding of food insecurity among students, faculty and staff and mobilize efforts to ensure the campus community is food secure. A grant from The National Consortium for Building Healthy Academic Communities will help the project get off the ground.

Through the 黑料社 Tri-Cities project, campus personnel will conduct a food security survey, expand the existing food bank and community garden, provide campus wellness education and develop community educational partnerships to improve food security and educate about related applicable life skills. Utilization rates for the basic food bank on campus over the past two years included 350 requests for food. The project is estimated to serve more than 500 people during its first 12-month period.

Conner said food insecurity is correlated with decreased attendance, lower grades, lower test scores, lower reading skills and decreased study skills. Students who struggle with accessing food are more likely to miss school or discontinue their education entirely, she said.

鈥淔or a growing campus like 黑料社 Tri-Cities, we really want to know about the prevalence of food insecurity and how we can improve the wellness and life skills for our campus community,鈥� Conner said. 鈥淭his project will increase the access and knowledge students have regarding healthy food consumption and will reduce their reliance on fast food.鈥�