By Ethan Sirles
Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) and Aramark, the school’s food service provider, recently announced that EKU will be the first school in the Aramark Collegiate Hospitality Midwest Region with a convenience store (POD) accepting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. SNAP is a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program that provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget.
“Part of being the School of Opportunity is making sure that students have access to basic needs and resources to support their personal and educational success,” said EKU President David McFaddin. “By becoming the first university in Kentucky to accept SNAP benefits on campus, we are keeping our promise to make higher education affordable and accessible for our region and the Commonwealth as a whole.”
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, approximately one in four college students experiences food insecurity, which means they do not have adequate access to food products.
“We noticed some discussion about low food security on campus,” said Steve Caudill, the chief auxiliary services officer at EKU. “We wanted to show that we’re listening and wanted to provide extra resources on campus for students, faculty and staff.”
Caudill said a discussion about food security on campus gained a lot of momentum in early 2023 during a Food Security Forum hosted by representatives within EKU’s Food and Nutrition and Anthropology Departments. The forum allowed students, faculty and staff to discuss issues they saw on campus, leading to the creation of the Food Security Coalition, which meets every semester to discuss updates and changes to food security. From these discussions, the idea was presented to make SNAP benefits available on campus.
“By offering SNAP benefits on campus, EKU is making it clear that we want to support and invest in the physical and academic well-being of our students. The work will not stop there. I am hopeful that we will continue to find ways to support student basic needs by working together as a campus community,” said Dr. Abbigail Hickey, assistant professor of food and nutrition, who started the EKU Food Security Coalition along with Dr. Amanda Green, associate professor of anthropology.