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To help end student hunger, food pantry comes to DSU

James Morrison
/
Delaware Public Media
Inside of the food pantry at DSU

Students in need of emergency food assistance and toiletries now have access to a recently opened food pantry at Delaware State University.

Lydia Sampson, one of the managers and a graduating senior, says hunger is a real issue among the student demographic.

"People actually do always talk about how they can’t afford food and it’s hard to spend money," Sampson said. "They’re going to fast food places and getting food. So when we opened this, it was actually a really good thing. People were able to come through here."

The food pantry opened two weeks ago and will be open biweekly. Sampson said. An official ribbon cutting was held Wednesday afternoon.

Patricia Beebe, the president of the Food Bank of Delaware, said the problem of hunger casts a net wider than DSU. She calls it “food insecurity," saying 23 percent of the college population nationwide is food insecure.

 

"All of us that have been to college know that budgeting and problems created with having enough money - student loans are an issue - so it stands to reason that lack of food would be a basic issue that so many students are faced with," Beebe said.

 

The food pantry is sponsored, in part, by the Harry K. Foundation and Food Bank of Delaware. The foundation plans to open 30 sponsored pantries at First State schools by the end of the school year.

 

All Things Considered host/reporter James Morrison contributed to this story.

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