Students take food security issues out of classroom and into community

Undergraduates in this spring’s “Food, Environment, and Development” class hosted by the Nicholas School of the Environment and taught by Kenan Institute for Ethics Graduate Fellow Shana Starobin will not be sitting down to a written exam during finals. Instead, they are putting their knowledge on food insecurity into action to help the local community. Through April 30, they are collecting donations for local food banks, and on the final day will volunteer at the Interfaith Food Shuttle, packing backpacks containing six balanced meals and two healthy snacks for children who live in homes with food insecurity. Read more about the students through opinion pieces by Diana Anthony for The Chronicle and Shafiq Haris for The Malaysian Insider, and through the course blog, featuring food diaries written during the SNAP food challenge. All students and community members are invited to join their efforts:

Duke Food Drive #DukeFeeds
Got food points or Spare $? Feed those in need. 

WHAT: Join Food, Environment and Development in our end-of-semester class effort to raise awareness and donations to address food insecurity in Durham.

• Use spare food points or $ to donate cans, dry foods, or fresh fruits and veggies to be delivered to local food pantries—the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina and the Urban Ministries of Durham.
• Make an online donation to our fundraiser for the Interfaith Food Shuttle.

WHEN: April 23^rd to April 30^th

WHERE: Food bins will be located at the Lobby Shop, Uncle Harry’s, and Marketplace, in collaboration with Campus Enterprises and Duke Stores.

WHY: Hidden hunger is a chronic issue in the U.S. and worldwide. In North Carolina alone, nearly 1 in every 4 children is food insecure–meaning more than 600,000 children in North Carolina are at risk of hunger and not getting the food they need to lead healthy, active lives.  The summer months represent a time of increased vulnerability to hunger, as key school programs like free or reduced-price meals are unavailable for food insecure children (locally some 116,000 children applied for these programs in the 2012-2013 school year).

Please consider donating any amount of money, and sending this out to your friends and family as well.