CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An organization at UNC Charlotte is raising awareness about food insecurity and helping tackle the problem with a digital cookbook and food drive.
According to the Wisconsin Hope Lab, food insecurity affects 1 in 3 students. In 2019, a survey at UNC Charlotte revealed 32% of students on campus faced food insecurity.
What You Need To Know
A 2019 UNC Charlotte survey showed 32% of students faced food insecurity
The American Marketing Association at UNC Charlotte created a digital cookbook with quick and affordable recipes
The group also hosted a food drive and donated to the pantry on campus
The American Marketing Association picked this issue as their campaign for the semester.
“A lot of students suffer from it, and it may be a little overlooked,” AMA’s Vice President of Marketing Taylor Gantt said.
Gantt, Mallory Dewhurst and other students part of AMA collaborated to create a cookbook with five affordable and easy recipes for college students.
“I think it’s very important because there are a lot of students, not just at our school but at colleges nationwide, dealing with food insecurity,” Dewhurst said.
Last week, they prepared the avocado fried egg bagel recipe included in their free digital cookbook.
“You can put this breakfast together in 15 minutes and go to class with a full stomach,” Dewhurst said.
The four ingredients they bought for this recipe cost $7.73 and would be enough for five breakfast sandwiches.
“It makes me want to go to the grocery right now and make some whenever when I get home. One, it was delicious and, two, it’s super easy. It’s cheap and easy,” Gantt said.
The senior is busy and on a budget.
“This happens to me frequently that I do sit in class and all I can think of is: What am I going to eat today? Should I stop at Cookout? Can I even afford Cookout?” Gantt said.
This is one of the reasons the group conducted a campus food drive as part of their effort. They donated the food collected to the Jamil Niner Student Pantry, which opened in 2014.
For Gantt, food insecurity is a personal issue, and she's glad to help be part of the solution.
“Just to make sure that college students are also nourished ... and they are taking care of themselves,” Gantt said.
The AMA also included more information about other resources available to students on a blog spot.