COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH) — Hunger in higher ed. Food insecurity is creeping onto college campuses across South Carolina.
On Wednesday, one school took steps forward to help students with a growing need.
Students on the University of South Carolina campus talking about the rising rate of hunger among college students in the state. Last year, 48% of students at USC reported food insecurity, up from a little more than 46% in 2022.
“At the beginning, it was a little difficult to find food and got hungry,” William Dye, Senior at USC, said. “It got scarce around that time, so I kind of had to work with what I had for a while.”
On Wednesday, USC fought that issue with five new refrigerators stocked with free meals for students and others on campus to take.
Part of the school’s Feed the Flock initiative, the program reclaims food from campus events and donors and makes fresh, ready-to-eat meals.
The goal is 200 meals a day over 3 days a week, with forty meals in each fridge.
“Food waste and hunger are the two dumbest things we experience as human beings, by stopping food waste we can also stop hunger, so that’s kind of our goal and driving force here at Feed the Flock,” Scott Taylor, Director of the International Institute for Food Service, Research, and Education, said.
Around 23% of undergraduates in South Carolina deal with food insecurity, and 29% of four-year universities suffer from food insecurity.
Scott Taylor says he’s been learning more about hunger issues other schools are facing in the Carolinas, and hopes to expand the program.
“The hope to that we can kind of help maybe a case study for other schools to go after and maybe implement some similar changes,” Taylor said.
These fridges are spread across five locations across the USC campus, including here at the Close-Hipps building, Thomas Cooper Library, and the Unity Shop.
Dining and Cooking