By Cincade Drudge
Food insecurity, or the lack of reliable access to sufficient amounts of food, is a growing concern among many Allen County residents, with college students in particular struggling to balance the costs of tuition, housing, and other basic living expenses with healthy eating.
At Purdue University Fort Wayne, the FRIENDS of the University Pantry is tackling this issue head-on by providing essential resources to students and other local residents in need. It works alongside other community organizations, such as the Community Harvest Food Bank, to ensure that students have access to nutritious food while pursuing their education.
On a national level, college students experience relatively high levels of food insecurity, with data from the National Library of Medicine estimating food insecurity among American college students ranging from 19% to 56%.
On a national level, college students experience relatively high levels of food insecurity, with data from the National Library of Medicine estimating food insecurity among American college students ranging from 19% to 56%.
While there is no data directly researching food insecurity rates at PFW, one can infer that insecurity exists at the university from the number of people using the FRIENDS of the University Pantry, which is around 9,000 annually, suggesting that a substantial number of PFW students rely on its services.
Eric Manor, associate chief for campus and community wellbeing at PFW, who oversees the pantry, highlighted this growing need and exponential usage since the pantry started in 2017.
“In 2023 and 2024, we’ve seen about 9,000 visits each year, a number that had been steadily increasing until it recently leveled off. While we can’t say exactly how many students are food insecure, the demand—both from students and community members—shows that more people are relying on the pantry than ever before,” he said.
Nationally, this increase in demand can be seen in the food insecurity rate, which hovers around 13.5%, according to the most recent USDA data, showing an increase from recent years. Feeding America reports that Allen County has a similar food insecurity rate of 13%. The USDA data also indicates that around 5% of total food-insecure people experience “very low” levels of food insecurity, meaning they often have to skip meals due to low food budgets, eventually leading them to negative consequences for their health.
A multitude of factors contribute to food insecurity, including rising costs of living, low wages, unemployment, and inflation. Inflation is a significant driver of food insecurity, making it difficult even for individuals who get wage increases to overcome it.
Logan Haffner, the impact manager at Community Harvest Food Bank, highlighted how inflation and food accessibility contribute to the issue.
“You could have a certain amount of income living in this space, and then two years later, you still have that job, and maybe you’ve even gotten a raise, but life has become more expensive, and two grocery stores near you have closed. So now you are food insecure and living in a food desert when two years ago, you weren’t,” Haffner said.
The food deserts mentioned by Haffner are another important aspect of food insecurity. These areas, where residents have limited access to affordable and nutritious food, disproportionately affect lower-income individuals and college students who may not have reliable access to transportation to reach grocery stores outside their immediate neighborhoods.
In these areas, individuals often resort to purchasing cheaper, processed foods that lack nutritional value, further exacerbating health issues such as obesity, diabetes, and malnutrition. Certain areas of Fort Wayne have been classified as food deserts, further intensifying the food insecurity problem in Allen County.
To combat these food insecurity challenges, the FRIENDS of the University Pantry at PFW serves as a critical resource for both university students and local residents facing food insecurity. The pantry provides fresh produce (depending on the time of year), shelf-stable food, and refrigerated/freezer food; individuals can receive up to 15 or 20 items per week, depending on where the items are sourced from. These cut-offs are necessary since some of the food comes from state-run programs, while the majority of it comes from the Community Harvest Food Bank.
Manor, the overseer of the pantry, spoke of the requirements, or lack thereof, to receive goods from the pantry.
“There are no eligibility requirements required. It’s really just show up as you are. There is a short form participants fill out the first time they come once they fill out that for the first time, they can just come in, type in their name, get their food, and then they can go,” he said.
Manor clarified that although the government requires them to collect certain information, they are not necessarily obligated to verify its accuracy, leaving that decision to the participants themselves. Additionally, exit surveys are submitted to Community Harvest on a monthly basis.
Among those involved with the FRIENDS Pantry is Abigail Coates, a PFW student who initially volunteered at the pantry for a class project.
Since being hired at the pantry in November 2024, Coates has taken on a variety of roles at the pantry, including bagging food for visitors and stocking shelves. Coates emphasized how eye-opening the experience has been.
“It made me realize that the little things in life can mean so much to some people,” she said. “For me, I can just go to the grocery store and get whatever I need, but for some of these people, it’s so amazing to see how it impacts their lives. I’m so grateful to be the one to do that.”
To students hesitant about using the pantry, Coates emphasized the inviting atmosphere of the pantry.
“It is a very judgment-free zone. Even if you aren’t struggling on a large scale, I think it’s a wonderful resource. It’s very easy to use, and it’s very beneficial,” she said.
Coates’ experience with the pantry highlights the role students can play in addressing food insecurity not just as beneficiaries of the pantry, but as active participants in combating the issue of food insecurity.
Beyond campus, the Community Harvest Food Bank plays a vital role in addressing food insecurity throughout Allen County. The organization distributes food to thousands of families each month, partnering with local pantries, churches, and community organizations to maximize its reach. Celebrating its 42nd year in operation, Community Harvest served an impressive 91,500 people last year.
Community Harvest offers 10 distinct service programs aimed at helping different groups of people, including veterans, seniors, children, and families. They also offer a program called Saturday Helping Hands, which, similarly to the FRIENDS pantry, is open distribution, asking for no eligibility requirements.
Despite these achievements, Impact Manager Haffner emphasized that the organization still has a long way to go when it comes to reaching its ultimate goal of putting an end to food insecurity.
“When I first started working at Community Harvest two years ago, we had never served a thousand households in a distribution ever. Then we broke that record, and now we’re almost twice that for the average,” Haffner said. “Part of this, we can chalk up to successful marketing and making more people aware. We’re always excited to help those in need, but seeing those numbers climb—it feels like the issue is getting worse faster than we’re able to keep up.”
Adding to these concerns are the additional challenges organizations like these two face: funding, volunteer availability, and raising awareness are constant hurdles.
Manor stressed funding challenges organizations like his face.
“We face lots of challenges regarding the funding, and we’re not alone in that. We’re not university-funded, so all funds that we have are generated through either grants, donations, or food drives. We do a number of different things in the campus community to try to kind of get a supply of steady goods rolling through the pantry as well,” he said.
Looking ahead, organizations like the FRIENDS Pantry and Community Harvest Food Bank are exploring ways to expand their services. Mobile food pantries, partnerships with local grocery stores, and policy advocacy are all part of broader efforts to address food insecurity in sustainable ways.
For those in need, resources are readily available. The FRIENDS of the University Pantry offers essential items with no barriers to entry:
- Thursday: 10 a.m.–2 p.m. | Walb Union, Room G36
- Monday & Tuesday: 4–7 p.m. | Student Housing, Clubhouse
Meanwhile, Community Harvest Food Bank continues its mission through multiple distribution programs, including the Farm Wagon and Saturday Helping Hands, ensuring food reaches those who need it most.
As food insecurity remains a pressing issue for both students and local residents, solutions-driven initiatives like these serve as models for how communities can come together to create lasting change.
