PILLAR III:
FOOD INSECURITY
“Food is universal, it’s what fuels us and what gives us the energy to partake in our day-to-day. As someone who does not have a car, and therefore lacks easy access to meals, I have experienced the insecurity that comes with not having fuel for sustainable living. Although we live in a food desert, the disparate levels of social stratification was something I became keen to and realized could be capitalized on, and that’s how West Campus Collective came to fruition. Working with organizations within west campus that face food waste and repurpose it for students that suffer from its insecurity through a mutual aid model. This reality of food insecurity is normalized and should not be, as food is principle to everything we do, and working to close this gap of inequality in a way that strengthens UT student community ties across access and identity is paramount to my time as a student here.”
- Katherine Ospina, Co-founder of West Campus Collective (WCC)
Hot Meal Distribution
We will partner with West Campus Collective (WCC), an initiative “made for students by students” premised on providing repackaged meals to food-insecure students.
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We have received a verbal agreement on said partnership.
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Repackaged meals would be sourced from various organizations that have the means, such as Greek organizations. We hope to expand to private dormitories.
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WCC has a pre-existing relationship with a Greek organization and their food company, Sterling Food Company, that supplies them with the food to be redistributed.
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We would work to repackage/redistribute WARM meals to one food-insecure area on and off campus.
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Weekly distributions
Swipe Out Hunger Initiative
We will work to partner with the national non-profit "Swipe Out Hunger" to battle food insecurity. No meal swipe would go unused. They would be redistributed and donated, there would be no cost whatsoever.
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***With this partnership, we would specifically work on the DobieTwenty21 Meal Plans, the "Longhorn 20" and "Longhorn 60"