Owens Community College’s food pantry visits have doubled since SNAP changes in Ohio.
PERRYSBURG, Ohio — Food insecurity is a multi-pronged issue, and the demand for Owens Community College’s campus pantry is climbing fast, Krista Kiessling, the director of Campus and Community Connections, said.
Kiessling explained how the pantry has seen a significant increase in visitors since the first round of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program changes in Ohio took effect last academic year. Thousands of people in the area lost SNAP benefits.
This story continues below.
Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported a small decrease in grocery prices, overall food prices remain high.
“Things are not tampering down. We’re only seeing increases,” Kiessling said. “Ever since the first round of Ohio SNAP changes came through, we’ve seen a significant increase in numbers. I’d say, on average, they’ve doubled consistently.”
She noted how the increase first showed up this past summer, when campus is typically quiet. Fewer students are on campus during those months, yet pantry use still climbed well above the previous summer. It accelerated again when the fall semester began.
“During our heaviest months in like 2016, we would see maybe 600 people a month and we thought that was tremendous,” Kiessling said. “We’re now going up over 800 a month consistently and rising.”
Owens was the first community college in Ohio to open a food pantry on campus, launching it in 2012 to serve students and their families. Kiessling said students showed the college the need. Since then, nearly every regional college and university has added a similar resource. The campus also grows food that goes to the pantry.
Kiessling said a grant recently received by the Food Recovery Network will pay for a larger refrigerator to serve as a community fridge for students and the campus community. The network also allows the pantry to coordinate collection of prepared food that goes unused, such as extra food from catered events or restaurant kitchens that could not go out for service. That food will be made available to students and their families who use the pantry.
“There’s a lot of food waste in the community as well,” Kiessling said.
As the year winds down, she said food insecurity can really mess with feelings about the holidays. Since Thanksgiving and Christmas are approaching, Kiessling said the pantry works with larger community agencies that provide full holiday meals and refers students to them. When donations of turkeys or holiday food come in, the pantry distributes them. But she said many facing food insecurity feel differently about the season.
“The saddest news is that when you’re talking to folks that are dealing with food insecurity, they’ll tell you that Thanksgiving is just another day for them,” Kiessling said.
Kiessling said people who need help do not always fit common assumptions.
“They don’t always look like somebody that obviously hasn’t bathed in a week,” she said. “They look like the person that’s sitting next to you at work. They’re the people who you see in front of you in line at Kroger. They look like just somebody that’s sitting in the stands at your kid’s basketball game.”
She said she is committed to basic needs support at every level of education, noting students cannot focus on studying or a test when they are hungry or lack a safe place to sleep. Still, she looks forward to the day the need disappears.
“I will celebrate the day that I am put out of business because the needs no longer exist,” Kiessling said.
Kiessling said the pantry is sustaining itself with strong community support and established food partners, but it welcomes help. Hygiene items and cleaning supplies are always needed. She also encouraged community members to support any organization working on food insecurity.
Dining and Cooking