The Students Helping Oz Peers (SHOP) program launched in 2016. Since then, it has helped hundreds of students who suffer from food insecurities and lack access to food and resources at SUNY Oswego. 

 The food pantry is a collaborative effort between students, faculty and others in the community. This past year has been a struggle as it takes advantage of students being on-campus. 

With COVID-19, the food pantry went from having around 300 students using its services in the 2019-20 academic year, to a mere 100 students the following year. Intern and SUNY Oswego student Helena Buttons is working to bring the numbers back to the pre-pandemic levels. 

“It might just be because there were less people on campus but it did hurt our users,” Buttons said. “We have been arranging collaborations and I cannot disclose all of those yet but we have also been at the tabling events. We were at the mental health and wellness fair for the entire time. We are doing outreach with Johnson [Hall] and Auxiliary Services in Marano Campus Center on a variety of things, including a food drive.”

It is hard work but the internship experience for Button and SUNY Oswego student Erica Home has been enjoyable and eye-opening. The reward, according to them, is the impact they are starting to make and potentially expand upon. 

“For me, definitely enjoyment knowing I am making an impact on campus, no matter how small it is,” Horne said. “I’ve had students come up to me not even in SHOP and recognize me and say ‘thank you’ and they are just very appreciative of the services we have here because a lot of [college] campuses don’t.” 

Buttons, who just joined SHOP in August, may have the least experience with the organization of the interns, but has already felt the fulfillment of being a part of the program early this academic year. 

Various surveys of the SUNY Oswego campus and other college communities around America have shown food insecurities are experienced by 30 to 60 % of students, according to data acquired by Buttons. 

“In spring of 2021, a survey was conducted of between 300 and 700 students living on campus,” Buttons said. “It revealed that 32% of students had experienced food insecurities within the last 30 days.”

Even though SUNY Oswego’s community when surveyed recently was on the lower end of this alarming range, it in theory impacts upwards of over one thousand students living on campus. 

Food insecurity is defined by Oxford Dictionary as, “the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.” 

The key for the program, according to its interns, is finding a way for all students on campus to know that the food pantry, located in the basement of Penfield Library, is always available. Confidentiality and other measures have been taken to preserve privacy for those participating as well. Finally, community outreach and letting students know of the location and existence of the program after COVID-19 has disoriented the understanding of campus for several students. 

“It is really hard to ask for help sometimes,” Buttons and Hornesaid in almost unison.

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