Chancellor King Announces Pilot Program to Expand Food Pantry Capacity at Five SUNY Campuses
September 26, 2024
Automated Food Lockers to Provide Students with Access to Food when Campus Food Pantries are Closed
Fact Sheet Outlining SUNY’s Commitment to Basic Needs Support Available Here
Photographs from Today’s Visit Available Here
Rochester, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today announced a pilot program to expand food pantry capacity at five SUNY campuses with automated food lockers, so students can access food when campus food pantries are closed. Chancellor King made the announcement during a visit to Monroe Community College, which alongside Finger Lakes Community College, SUNY Plattsburgh, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, and SUNY Potsdam, will participate in the pilot.
Each SUNY campus has a food pantry with a refrigerator for perishable items. In 2023, Chancellor King announced $1 million of dedicated ongoing state-supported operating funding to provide sustainable financial assistance for SUNY campus food pantries. The funding was part of New York State’s historic investment in higher education approved by Governor Kathy Hochul and state legislators in the 2023-24 Enacted State Budget.
While on campus, Chancellor King joined President DeAnna R. Burt-Nanna, Assemblywoman Sarah Clark, and the MCC community for a roundtable discussion on SUNY initiatives aimed at tackling food insecurity that college students face and for a tour of the campus food pantry.
"Our commitment to student success requires that we address food insecurity and other basic needs of SUNY students," said SUNY Chancellor King. "This pilot program of automated food lockers will help our campuses provide students with well-rounded nutrition that meets their dietary needs at the time of their choosing. No student should go hungry."
The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "There are still too many students across the nation facing food insecurity, and at SUNY we won’t let them face it alone. Today’s pilot is yet another step forward toward making good healthy food accessible, when a student needs it. By removing this worry, students can concentrate on getting a good education at our colleges and universities."
The automated food locker pilot – an initiative from the 2024 State of the University agenda – is part of SUNY’s comprehensive approach to addressing students’ basic needs that also includes three important steps set out in a resolution adopted by the SUNY Board of Trustees that take effect beginning this fall to:
- Ensure students who are eligible for SNAP receive outreach and support in enrolling for SNAP benefits.
- Ensure that information about basic needs resources is provided to all students in destigmatizing ways, including during orientation for new students and on campus websites.
- Request that faculty voluntarily include information about basic needs resources in syllabus statements.
A lack of regular access to food is an issue that plagues many of today's college students, with analysis from the Government Accountability Office revealing that approximately 23% of college students (3.8 million) experienced food insecurity in 2020. In addition to expanding campus food pantries, this fall, SUNY colleges and universities were directed by Chancellor King to ensure every eligible student received personalized outreach and application support for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
To support campuses in this work, SUNY partnered with Benefits Data Trust to assist five SUNY community colleges—Finger Lakes, Monroe, Orange County, Schenectady, and Westchester—on personalized outreach efforts connecting eligible students with SNAP to remove food insecurity as a barrier for students.
Monroe Community College President DeAnna R. Burt-Nanna said, "College students struggling with food insecurity often face an uphill battle, and studies show that it can have a devastating impact on their success. Students should not have to worry about where their next meal is coming from. Today's announcement by Chancellor King reinforces SUNY's commitment to fighting food insecurity. During the last year, MCC assisted over 4,300 students and over 1,600 children; approximately 20% of MCC students are parents through DWIGHT, Doing What Is Good and Healthy Together, our campus food pantry initiative created to support students in need of food and additional resources. At MCC, our Faculty and staff continue to work diligently to address the issue of food insecurity by connecting students to resources on and off campus."
Assemblywoman Sarah Clark said, "Food insecurity is a challenge for many in our community and continues to be a growing trend for college students. For those who need extra help, we know that between classes, studying, and off-campus employment, it can be difficult to access the available food pantries during open hours. I am grateful for the support of Chancellor King and leadership at all SUNY campuses for helping students access SNAP and am excited to see the impact that DWIGHT and the automated food pantries will make here at MCC."
Northeast Regional Director at Young Invincibles Sean Miller said, "Students cannot succeed when their basic needs go unmet. Expanding food pantry access on campus is a critical step toward ensuring that all students can focus on their studies rather than worrying about their next meal. Young Invincibles is excited to see this much-needed expansion being piloted at several SUNY campuses and looks forward to the continued rollout of these expanded food pantries and SNAP enrollment resources to further combat student hunger and food insecurity throughout New York. Young Invincibles and our NY State Postsecondary Basic Needs Coalition applaud Chancellor King and SUNY leadership for prioritizing the essential needs of students."
To combat food insecurity on campus, Monroe Community College’s food pantry created the DWIGHT (Doing What Is Good and Health Together) initiative to support students in need of food and additional resources to help those who are having difficulties making ends meet.
Monroe Community College also provides targeted SNAP outreach for students to help fight food insecurity, and offers a SNAP enrollment verification link to help students determine their SNAP eligibility. The campus also serves as a SNAP retailer in their campus bookstore, where students can utilize their SNAP benefits there.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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Holly Liapis
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