Hunger remains a fundamental barrier to educational access and completion for a significant number of students at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C). Students experiencing hunger and food insecurity are less likely to perform well in their studies, complete a degree and attain employment in their chosen career.
Tri-C’s food pantries offer open, welcoming spaces that remove any sense of self-consciousness for those who need food assistance. Tri-C was already grappling with this crisis before the pandemic, since 43 percent of our students live in low-income households. In a 2020 pre-pandemic survey, 18 percent of our students told us they skip meals regularly when they run out of money, and 16 percent worry about having enough to eat.
The College is creating modern, accessible pantries to improve stable access to food for students on all four campuses. The new spaces have capacity to stock fresh and frozen foods, dry goods, and essential toiletries in a comfortable and accessible setting. Staff help to connect students to other campus resources that offer long term solutions. Through generous donor support, Tri-C offers enhanced and expanded food pantries on all four Tri-C campuses.
Partnership
In addition to philanthropic support from donors, The Cleveland Food Bank is a critical partner in stocking the pantry sites. This partnership helps us better steward our budget and philanthropic contributions, maximizing our purchasing power to provide a variety of quality, nourishing food.
Programs do more than fill students’ plates
Students who staff the pantries are paid, earning necessary income as they pursue their education while learning customer service, management and marketing skills.
The pantries become trusted spaces and services where we can direct students to the help the need: referrals to Tri-C counseling for assistance such as applying for public benefits; personal counseling and referrals for other social services outside the College. Financial Aid provides students with application assistance, processes and handles scholarships, and stipends. A Student Emergency Fund helps with unexpected expenses from illness, injury or financial catastrophe. Our aim is to get students back on their feet and concentrating on their academic success whenever we can.
Support from donors is essential to ensuring that Tri-C is able to address food insecurity in our student community. By addressing the fundamental need for nourishment, your support helps to keep students enrolled and focused on completing their program of study so that they may enter the workforce and obtain family-sustaining jobs in our region's economy.
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The American Association of Community Colleges: Building a Nation of Learners by Advancing America’s Community Colleges
Learn more: https://www.aacc.nche.edu
