Viewpoint: Fighting food insecurity among students

Amy Allison and Kat Cowley

For the past 25 years, Missoula Food Bank & Community Center and the University of Montana have partnered on Can the Cats, our friendly, off-the field food drive competition against our friends at the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and Montana State University.

Over the years, Can the Cats has become Missoula County’s largest food drive of the year and a critical part of making our community more food secure during the holiday season.

This year there is an extra urgency, especially for university students in our community. Across the country there have been significant delays with the Federal Student Aid program, which has caused students to not receive their student loans and aid payments on time. Students rely on these payments not only to pay for tuition and books, but also to meet their basic needs like housing and utility costs, and groceries.

In September, the University of Montana’s Faculty Association & Students Together Fund, in partnership with the ASUM Bear Necessities Agency, gave out a full semester's worth of emergency financial support in just one month.

At the same time, the UM Food Pantry has seen record utilization of their food programs and Missoula Food Bank & Community Center has seen an increase in college students accessing their resources.

A college education is a vital tool in overcoming generational poverty in our community. However, students cannot thrive if they are struggling to meet basic needs like having enough food to eat.

College students are not the only community members that are struggling with food insecurity in our county. At Missoula Food Bank & Community Center, we have seen a 25% increase in the utilization of our Kids Empower Pack program.  These kid-friendly food packs are sent out to schools and educators, who then distribute them each Friday to ensure kids facing food insecurity have enough to eat over the weekends.

Missoula Food Bank & Community Center and the UM Food Pantry are working to ensure that all students, no matter their age, can focus on learning instead of worrying about what's on their plate.

We are thankful for the strong support we receive from the University of Montana Administration, the hundreds of businesses and organizations who participate in this two-week food drive, and the entire Missoula community who help make Can the Cats a success.

You can help in that effort by donating food or dollars during Can the Cats. Find out more at CanTheCats.com.

Kat Cowley is the director of ASUM Bear Necessities Agency & UM Food Pantry; Amy Allison is the executive director of Missoula Food Bank & Community Center