By Staff Writer
The UCLA chapter of the California Public Interest Group (CALPIRG) hosted an art gallery on May 19 showcasing the stories and artwork from students who have been personally affected by food insecurity.
The goal of the art gallery was to humanize and personalize the widespread issue of hunger on college campuses. Featured were photographs of students along with their stories of personal struggles with food insecurity, a poem about one student’s difficulties in succeeding at school while being unable to afford basic meals and multiple statements from students asking for the university to make a change.
“2 out of 5 students right here on our campus don’t know where their next meal is coming from or aren’t getting food that is nutritious enough to actually be healthy to be successful at one of the most competitive universities in the world,” said CALPIRG UCLA Chapter Chair and Zero Hunger Campaign Coordinator Sithara Menon. “We know that it is possible to end food insecurity and that we have all the resources to do it. We just need to actually commit UCLA to ending hunger!”
40 percent of undergraduate students are experiencing food insecurity, according to the UC Global Food Initiative. Meaning, nearly half undergraduate students experience limited access to food or disrupted eating patterns due to limited resources. Meanwhile, the average college wastes about 142 pounds of food per student each year. CALPIRG advocates for a comprehensive plan to redirect these unused and underused resources to students who are food insecure.
The Zero Hunger campaign has been raising awareness for this issue on campus, gathering nearly 1,000 student petitions in support of ending hunger on campus and collecting letters from students addressed directly to Chancellor Gene D. Block asking for a change. Menon worked with several members from the UCLA Undergraduate Student Associated Council (USAC) to sponsor a zero hunger resolution, and last month, USAC unanimously passed a resolution that calls for Chancellor Block to commit UCLA to ending student hunger by 2025.
The Zero Hunger campaign has also been in collaboration with other groups that are fighting to end hunger on campus, such as Swipe Out Hunger, a national nonprofit organization founded at UCLA that runs meal plan swipe donation drives each quarter. They have collaborated on visibility events, homelessness awareness week, and they helped push for a Zero Hunger campus commitment. CALPIRG has also been working with the Community Programs Office, which runs the on-campus food pantry, to start putting together a campus plan to address food insecurity.
“We are partnering with CALPIRG and Swipe Out Hunger to end this issue. This is a huge issue, and it isn’t going to go away with just one of us. We really need a united effort from all UCLA students!” said Elan Karlin, the current president of Challah for Hunger, a student organization that bakes and sells challah bread and donates all proceeds to the LA Food Bank and the advocacy group for college food insecurity, MAZON. CALPIRG and Challah for Hunger have worked together to organize challah bakes and gather letters to Chancellor Gene Block that advocate for the zero hunger initiative.
