Legislation & Resolutions
Associated Students | San Diego State University

A Resolution On Further Commitment to Fighting Food Insecurity and Establishing a Meal Sharing Program at SDSU

WHEREAS, the Associated Students of San Diego State University (SDSU) in Article I of the Student Bill of Rights and Bylaws promise to “promote student intellectual, cultural, physical and social welfare”;1

WHEREAS, SDSU affirms in its’ Strategic Plan for 2013-2018 “a university-wide commitment...to ensure student academic achievement and personal well-being is highly valued and essential to student success”;2

WHEREAS, food insecurity hinders personal well-being and prevents academic achievement;

WHEREAS, the California State University (CSU) 2018 Study of Student Basic Needs stated that 41.6 % of CSU students reported food insecurity, of those 20% experienced low food security and 21.6% very low food security.  According to the Department of Agriculture, food insecurity is defined as consistent access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources.;3

WHEREAS, the number of students who currently attend SDSU is over 33,000;

WHEREAS, the CSU Board of Trustees approved a 5 percent increase in tuition for fall 20174 and in-state undergraduate tuition at CSUs has more than doubled since 2006, not accounting for the rise in student fees;5

WHEREAS, Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber’s AB 1747 bill was “inspired both by an intern who struggled with food insecurity and by testimony she heard from students at a hearing she held last fall in San Diego”;6

WHEREAS, most local San Diegan community colleges and many of California State Universities have established food pantries and/or other services to address food insecurities. Many CSU food pantries are operated by Associated Students, which means operated by students and for students on their campuses;

WHEREAS, SDSU has established the Economic Crisis Response Team (ECRT), a group of staff, administrators, students, and faculty from across campus working together to ensure students experiencing food or housing insecurity, or other immediate, unforeseen financial crises are connected with short-term and long-term aid quickly and without stigmatization.;

WHEREAS, the Associated Students of SDSU has established a food pantry and AS NoWaste, a sustainability initiative promoted by social media, designed to reduce food waste and provide food to students facing food insecurity.

WHEREAS, the Associated Students food pantry is open Wednesdays from 10am to 3pm on the second floor of the Student Union and Thursdays at the Farmer's Market, and is a destination where students can access food and  learn  about other resources like Cal Fresh and ECRT, that are available to students who are experiencing food insecurity;7

WHEREAS, the Associated Students works with SDSU to ensure that resources are made available to provide application assistance for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, CalFresh;

WHEREAS, the Associated Students has committed staff resources to ensure the continued successful operations of the food pantry, in collaboration with student volunteers, and added two student Food Pantry leads;8

WHEREAS, SDSU has established swipe sharing. In one area of swipe sharing, this past academic year, of the 116,495 total meal swipe transactions, 36,019 were determined to be shared swipes, for a total of 30.9% of meal swipes being shared. This number is double the amount of all the CSU campuses combined, who use Swipe Out Hunger.

WHEREAS, every fall semester Associated Students coordinates the annual Aztecs Rock Hunger food drive. In the 2018 drive, $19,973 was donated through swipes.

WHEREAS, the California Assembly Bill AB 453 regarding Postsecondary education and student hunger was passed in 2017, which states CSU campuses may be designated as a “hunger free campus” once the three programs of: Cal Fresh enrollment, a food pantry and swipe sharing are implemented ;9

WHEREAS, the bill AB 453 allocates $7.5 million in support of Hunger Free Campuses, with each CSU being eligible to receive up to $108,695.65 as a financial incentive and support;10

WHEREAS, San Diego State University has implemented all three programs recommended in AB 453: the food pantry and CalFresh enrollment and the swipe sharing program; SDSU has been designated a “hunger free campus,” and received $40,000 in funding.

WHEREAS, because fighting food insecurity is a priority, be it

RESOLVED, the Associated Students will continue its commitment to fighting food insecurity by developing a sustainable spring swipe program in collaboration with Aztec Shops and all the proceeds will go directly to ECRT. This program will operate for one week at the end of each spring semester, and have a cap of $10,000 from meal plans with no restrictions on other donations. Monies raised will go into a fund managed by ECRT with student advisory and can only be spent on supporting students with immediate basic needs.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the  Associated Students will ensure that all aspects of fighting food insecurity: Cal Fresh enrollment, the food pantry, the AS no waste program swipe sharing and ECRT are all heavily marketed and promoted, especially to underserved student populations, so that students know about these programs, and they are being utilized, and be it  

FURTHER RESOLVED, this resolution is to be distributed widely including, but not limited to: SDSU President, SDSU Dean of Students, SDSU University Senate, the SDSU Alumni Association, The Division of Student Affairs, The Daily Aztec, and other organizations directly associated with SDSU.

 

References

  1. https://as.sdsu.edu/govt/resources/bylaws.php
  2. https://go.sdsu.edu/strategicplan/images/finalstrategicplanbooklet.pdf
  3. http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/food/sdsu-lags-behind-campuses-helping-needy-students-access-food/
  4. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/CSU-to-consider-5-percent-tuition-hike-10884225.php
  5. http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-ln-uc-csu-tuition-hikes-20161108-story.html
  6. https://a79.asmdc.org/press-release/brown-signs-weber-student-hunger-legislation
  7. https://as.sdsu.edu/foodinsecurity/foodpantry/
  8. https://as.sdsu.edu/govt/resources/legislation/140
  9. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB453
  10. http://www.swipehunger.org/hungerfreecampus