In the Fall of 2019, Boyd Yarbrough began hearing worrisome information from Lander University faculty: Students were asking their professors if they had food to share - because they were hungry.
The students weren't hungry because they wanted a snack in-between meals. They were hungry because they couldn't afford to buy a meal. Sometimes for days at a time.
Faculty members would describe students as saying, "Do you have anything that I can eat? I haven't eaten since Monday," said Yarbrough, Lander's vice president of Student Affairs. "The faculty member would generously respond by saying 'take half of my sandwich, or here's a package of crackers.'"
Yarbrough knew the University had to act. He formed a task force to study the level of food insecurity on campus. Faculty, staff and students were surveyed - and hundreds responded. The data confirmed that the problem of food insecurity, which exists on colleges and universities nationwide, was also a problem at Lander.
"Day-to-day and week-to-week, many of our students don't know where their food or meals will come from," said Yarbrough. "We realized there was a huge food need on our campus, and that aligns with colleges around the nation."
"At Lander, nearly 26 percent of students reported not eating for an entire day during the last 30 days. Of those students, 57 percent reported not eating for four days or more during the last 30 days," he explained.
A 2017 report, "Hunger on Campus," by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, found that at least 48 percent of college students faced food insecurity in the previous month, with 22 percent saying that they went hungry.
As Lander welcomes students to campus for the Fall of 2020, the problem of food insecurity has been addressed with a solid plan of action.
Lander and the Food Bank of Greenwood County have created the Lander Food Pantry, which is being stocked with perishable and non-perishable items. Lander joins the University of South Carolina, Clemson University and Coastal Carolina University as one of only four universities in the Palmetto State to have a campus food pantry.
S.C. Sen. Floyd Nicholson, of Greenwood, joined workers from the Food Bank on Aug. 4, to deliver the first shipment of food boxes to the Lander Food Pantry, located in Lide Court.
"This just goes to show what you can accomplish when you're willing to work together and not worry about who's going to get credit," said Nicholson. "The students that benefit are going to be the ones getting the credit."
Wendi Andrews, executive director of the Food Bank of Greenwood County, recalled her own days as a USC student when she and her roommate ate ramen noodles and canned Vienna sausages to stretch meal costs. "Students have enough to be worried about without worrying about food. Too often, they are suffering in silence. The partnership is a great fit for both groups," she said.
"Each of us wants to help. Our ultimate goal for the Food Bank is to secure the food, write grants for this partnership and help Lander keep this program going and growing," noted Andrews.
Although Lander could have established its own food program without the partnership, Yarbrough said the University is excited about the collaboration. "The Food Bank has a record of success," he said. "Doing this apart from them could have created confusion or a sense of competition. We want to work with the existing resources of our community."
The opening of the Lander Food Pantry later this month is timely.
"We are already seeing evidence that the pandemic is increasing the need for the Food Pantry," Yarbrough said. "We have had numerous students tell us they have lost their jobs during the pandemic and/or have family members who have lost their jobs. All of this builds an increased demand for the Food Pantry."
The Food Bank wants students to have food that they'll enjoy - deli meats, bread, pastries, spaghetti and more. "We want them to have all-around balanced meals, too," Andrews said.
"Our goal is for no student to go hungry," Yarbrough said. "This is vital for Lander as the majority of our students come from the counties surrounding Lander. When students have food needs on campus, it likely means that their families are not able to provide the level of support they would like to provide."
Yarbrough emphasized, "As we all know, when we are hungry, it is difficult to do our best at any task. Our students experience the same thing when they are hungry and are trying to go to class or study. We are working to create an environment where no Lander students will need to go hungry again."