A University Food Bank's Response to COVID 19

In response to COVID 19, Michigan State University decided to go completely to remote learning on Monday, March 16th. University programs and events slowly began to cancel or transitioned online. Students eventually left campus to go be with family. The transition was difficult for many, but I have to applaud the university's efforts in ensuring students who stayed around still had access to resources needed to complete the semester. Being keenly aware that the food bank would be impacted, I wondered if the food bank would continue its services. Shortly thereafter, about a week or so from moving completely online, the food bank sent out an email and a social media announcement. They announced that they had a surplus of fully cooked meals and snacks for any student to come by and pick up. I forgot which day it was, but I believe it was a weekend. At this point, I became curious as to what they meant by "fully cooked meals". Like, who cooked them? Where did they come from? And how long would they last? Nonetheless, at this point, I was already anxious regarding peoples' response to COVID 19 - the pictures of empty shelves at the grocery store and the videos explaining how long COVID 19 lasts on stuff. I was panicking on the inside but seemed calm on the outside. I decided to make the trek to the food bank with the hope that I would not need to go to the grocery store.

When I arrived at the food back, the team members had this elaborate set up for us to pick up our fully cooked meals. There were these large catering trucks filled with cases of food. It was a lot of food! I still did not know where it came from, but I was excited! I was excited at the thought of getting these meals and not having to meal prep for a few days. I was also excited at the thought of eating different meals I usually do not cook. And I was particularly excited because they had LOADS of hardboiled eggs (I love eggs!)

See the truck?! As one would get empty another would come.

I took with me my reusable bags. And as I waited in line I saw Dr. Allyn Shaw, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs, and Dr. Denise Maybank, Vice President and Associate Provost for Student Affairs. Both have been instrumental in my understanding of student affairs at MSU and have been supportive of my journey here, so it was great to see some friendly faces during these difficult times. Not only was I able to get some great meals, but I was able to say hi to some folks before I went into total isolation (afterward, I literally only went to the store if I needed something). As I got closer to the meals, I quickly realized what they meant by "fully cooked meals". They had braised beef, pulled pork, flank steak as the entree. Sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and cheese and shells as sides. And different types of salads and fresh-cut veggies. In addition, they had two types of fully prepped pasta meals. I mean, it was a whole series of prepped meals!!! (Along with the hardboiled eggs, YUM!)

The hardboiled eggs were in the cartons

Dr. Allyn Shaw and Dr. Denise Maybank

Each food item had an expiration date. Ultimately, they were all set to expire within the week! I appreciated this detail because it got me thinking. How can I make the best of these meals without them going bad and without overeating? (Stress eating during these times is easy to do!) I decided to freeze half of the meals. Freezing them was the best idea because, a while back, I had already meal prepped for the following week! One of my constant challenges with participating in the MSU Food Bank is that I never run out of food and I do not eat it or cook it quick enough, so I always have a surplus of food. I started freezing my meals this spring semester to help maximize my food consumption by allowing me to preserve cooked meals, and add variety to the meals I eat throughout the week. Meaning, I meal prep twice a week and whatever extra servings I might have beyond three servings, I freeze. And then later on when I am short on money or looking for something to eat, I defrost the meals and re-prep them for the week.

In some cases, I used some of the foods to supplement other meals out of my own pantry.

Nonetheless, the food lasted me roughly 4 weeks. My conclusion is that the university cafeterias had food but no students to feed. With students leaving campus, what were they going to do with that all that food? Their idea - Cook it and pass it out to students who intend to stay so that they can have access to food without having to access the school cafeterias. Cooking the food and passing it out as meals in partnership with the university food bank was a great idea in response to COVID 19. I can honestly say with the prepped meals and with what I already had in my pantry, I was set with food all the way to May. By May 4th, my roommate and I decided to head home to Texas to be with our family. (That the next post!)

Enjoying a Brussel sprouts salad dish.

6 Semesters Using the Food Bank and One Reflection Later

I am not an expert in food insecurity. However, I can say that I grew up in a food-insecure household. We had access to social welfare programs like food stamps, las estampillas. Through the program, my mother afforded us the opportunity to have milk, eggs, cereal, and juice, among other food items to ensure we ate a well-rounded meal. My parents are migrant farmworkers, their income came once a year by working in the fields. This type of income stream can be difficult for a family, especially a family with four growing girls. Sure, they worked small jobs during Fall and Spring, but the majority of our income came from working in the fields. My parents stretched their income and provided us with a comfortable livelihood with the support of government programs. If you asked me 13 years ago about my background, I would have been ashamed because of how the media portrays families like my own. Today, I am proud to say I was raised on welfare programs. It is because of those programs that my mother knew she did not have to send us to bed with empty stomachs (unless we did not eat our food). Like they say, “Ay ai comida en la casa” and “es todo lo que ay para comer”.  So, we ate what she made.

When I started graduate school and went back on a graduate student stipend with a much more robust level of debt, I knew I would need to find ways to supplement my eating habits and new student lifestyle. I went from a full-time job to a part-time job, with work hours during the day and study hours during the evening. Not only would I need to figure out how to afford food, but when to find the time to make it and sit down and eat without compromising my wellness. Surely, I thought I just need to spend my money wisely. However, bills stacked up, tuition came in, and I found myself strapped for financial resources to feed myself. I learned about my university’s food bank program through friends and figured I had to check it out. I had thoughts of my own, however. I wondered, "I have a job, will I qualify?", "I do not “look” poor (the type of poor that you create in your mind based on the social constructions around you), will they judge me?" Or, the opposite of that, "will I be judged for being “poor”?" All the shame I felt growing up as a result of living on social welfare programs resurfaced. But still, I went. I needed food.

There was a call for participants to take part in a focus group led by staff from the university’s food bank. I decided to attend because I wanted to learn more about their program and its purpose. It is in this focus group that I learned about food insecurity and all the meanings researchers use to define it. (For more information, you can click here). I learned that food insecurity is more than just not having money for food. It is that and much more. Food insecurity is not having access to grocery stores or places that have food for you to access, like an HEB right around the corner. Food insecurity is also not having the time or place to make food, and in the case of college students, that is not having a kitchen and not having time because we are always studying, therefore opting for cheap, quick and unhealthy food habits. Given what I learned, I eventually broke my own stigma associated with food banks.

Since then, I have participated in the program for 6 semesters now.  As a result, I have learned how to manage my time around the distribution schedule so that I can make sure I am available to access its services. In addition, I also plan my grocery shopping trips around the distribution schedule so that I only buy what I need for that week or month, essentially, I supplement my food bank wins with my grocery shopping trips. And even more important, I use social media to help educate my followers about the benefits of a food bank and how food banks can be transformative spaces for college students experiencing food insecurity.

(My friend is from Texas too and we use our Texas canvas bags to get our food. Can you see our Texas and HEB pride?)

When I meal prep, I am taken back to my mother’s kitchen in our trailer home in Minnesota when we would migrate up north. Con las estampillas, she prepared for us potato and egg tacos for breakfast and bean tacos for lunch when we went to the fields. As 9-year-olds, my sisters and I managed to work 10 hours a day alongside our parents with tacos in our bellies. All she needed was potatoes, eggs, beans, and tortillas. You only need the essentials, and that is what I see the food bank doing for students.

Breaking it Down

The MSU Food Bank is the longest-running program of its kind in the nation. It works with the local community food bank to supply its items, among other efforts. In order for students to participate in the program, they must be enrolled in classes for that semester. I will be on a summer fellowship this year and unfortunately will not have access to its services, so I will be using Aldi religiously over the summer (or HEB if I get to go home).

The food bank follows two distribution schedules. One week they distribute generally non-perishable items like canned goods, pasta (like the kind to make sopita), beans, and milk and juice, enough for a week. They also distribute some produce, but for the most part its standard food items you can store in your own pantry. The alternating week they distribute strictly produce like fruits and vegetables.  Generally, I have been able to form my meals from these two distributions. The best part, I have been forced to explore recipes with vegetables, especially onions. I am not a vegetable person, I will opt for a pasta dish any time, but the program is so amazing, I cannot let vegetables go to waste.

(The semester's first wins! So glad they had eggs this time around, I LOVE eggs!)

One conversation piece I left out was that the food bank also works to combat unhealthy diets by offering healthy foods. Since I do not have to spend money on produce, I am left with the opportunity to buy chicken and ground beef/turkey resulting in delicious, hearty meals for the week. For more on what I cook with my food bank wins (I call them wins because I am truly winning here), you can follow me on Instagram @aflor324.