Food insecurity is a problem at universities across the nation—including Boston University. A 2023 survey found that, of the 41 percent of BU students experiencing financial hardship, 44 percent had difficulty affording food.
“I’ve seen it firsthand,” says Kellie (Thomas) Finley-Call (STH’24). “Students shouldn’t have to choose between buying food and paying rent, or between eating dinner and buying textbooks.”
While BU has a long history of addressing food insecurity among students, the office of Student Wellbeing expanded its food resources for students in 2023. It opened the BU Food Pantry to streamline existing food distributions and ensure that students facing financial hardship could access basic groceries. It also launched an online platform to share practical resources with students, such as where to find free meals on campus and in the community.
In September 2023 alone, the BU Food Pantry distributed nearly 2,000 pounds of food to students. To ensure its supplies could continue to meet student demand, the pantry launched a crowdfunding campaign in December.
By year’s end, the BU Food Pantry had raised $52,946 from nearly 500 generous donors. That translates to a lot of groceries: $20 buys a student a week’s worth of staple items; $50 fully stocks the rice shelf for a week; $60 fully stocks the peanut butter shelf for a week; $100 provides groceries to five students for a week; and $1,000 stocks the entire pantry for a week.
“I’m encouraged by the impact we’re making at the BU Food Pantry,” says Anisha Erasani (Sargent’22, SPH’24), who worked in the BU Food Pantry as a graduate student. “In a recent survey, 89% of BU Pantry users says their needs were met by the food pantry.”
Carrie Landa, executive director of Student Wellbeing, agrees. “Food insecurity on college campuses is real,” she says. “But Boston University is committed to supporting students’ core and basic needs.”