The deadline for donations to “Help Feed Students in Need” has been moved to March 14th. In January, Chris Toomey, BC alumnus and former news editor for the Watchdog started a fundraiser to help feed students in need with the objective of restarting the Hunger Relief program at BC, which operated from June to December of last year before running out of funding. Toomey’s fundraiser has been moderately successful, but was more than $800 away from its projected goal at the time of print, an amount that is necessary to fund the hunger relief program for the spring quarter.
The present reliance on charity for hunger relief is the result of the college not meeting the requirements of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for the processing of Electronic Benefits Transfer, known colloquially as food stamps. With nearly 2,300 students without access to food on campus, providing hunger relief is a complex problem and ASG is looking at the creation of an on-campus food bank for students in need.
Other means of hunger relief have been explored, such as the fall food drive in which BC partners with Hopelink and St. Andrews church. Last year between 200 and 300 pounds of food were donated. ASG is now considering the creation of an on-campus pantry. Alex Clark, ASG’s environmental and social responsibility representative detailed, “The plan is to have a shelf and donation bin located downstairs in C building. The shelf would be stocked with food that is donated and would be available for students to take what they need …This is not [a] permanent solution, but is a temporary fix to the larger issue of hunger on campus. We will continue to work with the administration to hopefully create an on-campus food bank to better provide resources for our students in need.” The project is to be brought to the executive meeting this week for discussion.
Those interested in keeping BC students fed and healthy can visit the web page for the fundraiser at www.indiegogo.com/at/help-feed-students-in-need to donate to the cause.