UMassGives 2021

At UMass Amherst we are on a mission to ensure that all of our students are food secure. Food security means that our students have access, at all times, to enough food for an active, healthy life. You can help us provide food security to all our students with a gift today!

Food insecurity at colleges across the United States is a serious and widespread problem. In the 2018 study of college students in the US “Still Hungry and Homeless in College,” the Hope Center found that: 

•    36% of university students were food insecure in the 30 days preceding the survey. This translates to approximately 10,400 students on our campus. 

•    36% of university students were housing insecure in the last year. 

•    9% of university students were homeless in the last year. This translates to approximately 2,600 students on our campus. 

We know these numbers have only risen as COVID-19 has exacerbated already existing food, financial, and housing insecurity for our students and their families. We also know that hunger and homelessness are injustices linked to historical inequities of race, class, and gender; though higher-level systemic change is needed to correct these realities, one small difference we can make is in ensuring adequate access to food resources for every student.

The food security initiatives fund was born out of the ongoing work of our Campus Food Security Working Group, convened by the Dean of Students Office to work on putting into place a number of long-term, sustainable food security measures on campus. When you support this fund, you will be helping this group launch their projects and make a lasting and significant impact for UMass students.