Every week, tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders struggle to feed their families, but URI students are making a difference by helping many families in need gain access to healthy meals. Through our Feinstein Center for a Hunger-Free America students learn about issues surrounding hunger and food insecurity and how do something about them.
Students in any major are trained as outreach workers and visit food pantries, soup kitchens, farmers’ markets, health clinics, community action programs and other agencies to share information and help potentially eligible clients through the complex process of applying for food stamps. According to Kathleen Gorman, director of the Center, it’s challenging work but incredibly rewarding. “They meet with very diverse populations—senior citizens, non-English speakers, those with mental or physical disabilities, and some who are just in sad straits,” she said. “They learn communication skills and how to accept people where they are without judging them. And they love the work.”
“My favorite part of this job is getting to know clients on a personal level, and being able to provide a listening ear for someone who may be going through a difficult time in their life,” said senior Portia Burnette, who is studying nursing, philosophy, and biology. “This work has taught me to keep an open mind to the difficulties that others may be going through, and I intend to bring that perspective to my nursing career when I graduate.”
This work has taught me to keep an open mind to the difficulties that others may be going through, and I intend to bring that perspective to my nursing career when I graduate.
URI offers many ways to learn about hunger, nutrition, and the challenges facing low-income communities. Students can minor in hunger studies or intern in agencies the Center works with. Gorman helps groups organize food drives and advises students on related class projects, including one that led to a food pantry on campus, the Rhody Outpost.
“I never imagined how big a problem hunger is in Rhode Island, never mind the world,” said Diego Guevara, a junior theater and French major. “Working for the Hunger Center has taught me that I must be thankful for absolutely everything in my life. It makes me eager to continue working hard in an effort to end this pandemic.”
Students may also work with the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program at the URI Providence Campus, which provides free nutrition education at schools, churches, and community agencies; or team with faculty and graduate students on projects such as one led by Karen McCurdy, professor of human development and family studies. She is examining the relationship between maternal depression, family food behaviors, child food security, and obesity among low-income households in Rhode Island. Then there’s Alison Tovar, assistant professor of nutrition, who studies feeding practices at home-based childcare settings in low-income communities. We’re even considering offering a new interdisciplinary major in sustainable agriculture and food systems that will examine food production and hunger from a variety of perspectives.
Regardless of which direction you choose, there are plenty of ways that URI students can feed the need, and fight hunger here in Rhode Island and beyond.
Above: URI Snap Outreach Project participating in the South Kingstown Wintertime Farmers Market