Leaders across sectors convened to address campus hunger and collaborate on strategies to ensure students can access the food they need for academic success
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Washington, D.C., October 18, 2024 – The Capital Area Food Bank, the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area, and Northern Virginia Community College on Friday hosted the third-ever Regional College Hunger Conference, which brought together higher-education leaders, advocates and students to collaborate on strategies to ensure that students have the food they need to succeed.
“For far too many college students, food insecurity is a barrier to reaching their full potential,” said Radha Muthiah, President and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank. “By collaborating on comprehensive strategies to address this issue, we can help ensure students in our region have the resources they need to thrive both inside and outside the classroom. When students can graduate and enter the workforce, it supports not only their own future success, but the economic vitality of our entire region as well.”
More than 100 attendees from 21 institutions of higher learning participated in the conference, which was hosted on Northern Virginia Community College’s Annandale campus.
Today’s students may not always fit the “traditional” mold – they’re older, financially independent, and balancing responsibilities of raising or supporting families. These pressures on time and resources are intensified by rising tuition and escalating living expenses, making it increasingly challenging for many students to afford food while pursuing their degrees.
Addressing food insecurity on our campuses is not only a matter of helping students succeed; it is a matter of increasing equitable outcomes in higher education. The Capital Area Food Bank currently collaborates with higher education institutions in the region on initiatives supporting students, including providing grocery store gift cards directly to students in need.
This conference, now in its third year, has been another facet of the food bank’s work to support students. The day-long event included insights from regional college presidents, as well student perspectives on the personal impacts of food insecurity. It also included sessions discussing best practices for operating campus pantries, strategies for raising awareness of student resources, and data utilization.
About the Capital Area Food Bank:
The Capital Area Food Bank works to address hunger today and create brighter futures tomorrow for more than a million people across the region experiencing food insecurity. As the anchor in the area’s hunger relief infrastructure, the food bank provided nearly 61 million meals to people in need last year by supplying food to hundreds of nonprofit organizations, including Martha’s Table, SOME – So Others Might Eat, DC Central Kitchen, Food for Others, Manna, and others. It also works in partnership with organizations across the region to address hunger’s root causes by pairing food with critical services such as education, health care, and job training. To learn more, visit https://www.capitalareafoodbank.org/ or call (202.644.9864).
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