By snoadmin
Anybody who has had to subsist on a piping hot bowl of tap water soup just before a final exam can understand the less than antiquated axiom of having “too much month at the end of the paycheck.”
A host of economic factors are slugging U.S. college students in the breadbasket — literally. Tuition increases, climbing textbook costs and general living expenses all can hit the modern student like a punch to the gut.
Compound those obvious financial obligations with gasoline prices floating around $4 per gallon, rising unemployment and student-unfriendly rent, and colleges like Cal State Long Beach could expect Starving Student Syndrome (SSS) to reach new levels.
While the SSS acronym might be a contrived syndrome, the hunger pangs associated with skyrocketing receipts at supermarket check stands are not.
A recent Associated Press article, “Struggling college students turn to food banks,” reports that students in numerous university towns are increasingly relying on food banks and food stamps to get through the semester.
One source in the article, the Cornucopia Food Pantry at the University of New Hampshire, estimates that students ranging from 18 to 22 years old are the ones who struggle the most.
It’s in the belly of the beast that students with the responsibilities of paying all or most of their own way through college might have difficulty stretching household budgets. Many live on sparse incomes that rely heavily on combinations of financial aid, grants, scholarships and part-time jobs.
A lot of students hesitate to ask the parents for money, which might only exacerbate their dilemmas. Students from low-income families can have a tougher time; they know asking parents for already scarce money is not an option.
The fact of life in the “real world” is that food prices are rapidly on the rise with little relief in sight.
Second Harvest, a national food bank network, estimates that food costs compared to last year are up approximately 5.5 percent for most items and more than 30 percent for everyday staples such as milk and bread.
Many such networks are reporting that people visiting food pantries have risen in excess of 25 percent as a result of increased college student need.
What this means to struggling students is that hunger can become a serious threat to their educations. It can be hard to focus on studying with an empty stomach growling for substance.
Some students have taken the initiative in fighting hunger. A former South Carolina student started a Facebook support group, “I Ain’t Afraid to be on Food Stamps,” while attending Benedict College.
Resources exist to help alleviate hunger and resourceful students can find these through minimum research. Searching the internet and contacting community organizations such as local churches can direct students to food networks like Second Harvest.
Food stamps through the social services department — usually in the government section of local phone books — are another viable means of putting food in the cabinet, however qualifying often depends on family income. If the student’s parents claim them as a dependent on income taxes, they might not qualify.
Many students resist applying because the process can be cumbersome and embarrassing. Still, nearly 8 percent of food stamp users are aged 18 to 25.
Other suggestions to stretch the grocery budget include clipping coupons in the Sunday newspaper and visiting websites like coupons.com.
Networking with other students for value shopping at discount stores and forming food co-ops also can supply nutritional relief. College staples like ramen noodles and peanut butter can be much cheaper when purchased in bulk.
College life presents plenty to be stressful about, but biting one’s fingernails should never be considered a source of nutrition — especially when there are tangible ways available to cure SSS.
Duke Rescola is a senior journalism major and the opinions editor for the Daily Forty-Niner.
