Report Measures Food, Housing Insecurity on UNM Campus

During the 2020 session of the New Mexico State Legislature, three legislators introduced an initiative proposing an appropriation to the State Education Department to create a pilot program to address college hunger.  

House Bill 69, co-sponsored by Reps. Joanne Ferrary, Christine Trujillo and Melanie Stansbury, was approved on a "Do Pass" basis in committee, but then the measure was postponed indefinitely. Still, the bill was a recognition that hunger among students is a sometimes hidden problem at colleges and universities in New Mexico. 

The issue of hunger among college students is not as highly publicized as hunger in the general population, particularly among children, seniors and working families. But the concern is very real.

A team of UNM researchers--led by two Honors Program faculty members, Assistant Professor Sarita Cargas and Marygold Walsh-Dilley--began discussions last year on a plan to measure food insecurity at the University of New Mexico. Cargas and Walsh-Dilley have been an active participant in the Food, Hunger, Water, Agriculture Policy Action Team, a broad coalition seeking to find ways to reduce hunger in New Mexico. 

In September 2020, the researchers released the first findings in a report entitled Basic Needs Insecurity at UNM: 2020 Research Report. The report was funded primarily by the Office of the Provost and Office of the Chancellor at UNM, but the UNM Honors College, Student Services, and the Office of Student Affairs also contributed financially to the project. In addition to the two lead researchers, Heather Mechler, Kathryn Coakley, Shoshana, Adler Jaffe and Ann Murphy were also part of the team. See full report

"Food insecurity on college campuses has become an area of intense study over the past decade, and research on housing insecurity is on the rise,  said the executive summary.  "This report presents findings from the first representative study of basic needs security in college students in the state of New Mexico. 

First Survey Conducted in April 

The inaugural survey was conducted in April 2020, amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic. According to the study, students were selected using a stratified random sampling method of all degree-seeking students at the Albuquerque UNM campus. 

 

Factors in the sampling included low-income status (an expected family contribution of $5,576 as determined on a student’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid), level of study, gender, area of study, and ethnicity. The entire sample consisted of 12,000 students. Selected participants received an email two days before the survey launch informing them that they had been selected to participate in a survey about food and housing security among UNM students. 

 

The survey invitation noted that the first 2,500 participants would receive a $10 Amazon gift card as a token of appreciation for their time. The survey remained open for two weeks, with two reminders sent to students who had not yet responded. 

 

One in three students food insecure

"The report found that roughly one-third of students surveyed were food insecure in April and four in 10 were housing insecure at one time or another during the previous year.

"Our findings indicate that one in three UNM students were food insecure in April 2020 and over 40% were housing insecure sometime in the previous year," added the executive summary. "Both food and housing insecurity prevalence are higher at UNM than in the broader population of New Mexico. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that 16.8% of New Mexico Households are food insecure. It is harder to compare ousing insecurity because of a lack of consistent measurement strategies." 

"Basic needs insecurity varies across demographic groups. At UNM, the demographic groups most affected by food insecurity include African Americans and American Indians; transgender and gender fluid students; and gay, lesbian, and bisexual students," the executive summary noted.

The need to address hunger among college students extends beyond UNM. The study at New Mexico's flagship university is just the beginning. There are other universities and colleges in the state where food insecurity is likely present among students, including New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico Tech in Socorro, Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, Western New Mexico University in Silver City, Santa Fe Community College, Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque and Northern New Mexico College in Española, among others. These are the largest institutions. There are a couple other dozen small colleges and branch campuses for the major institutions.

Housing Insecurity

According to the  UNM study, the students most affected by housing insecurity are: Hispanic, American Indian, and international students, and students who are two or more races; female, transgender, and gender fluid students; gay, lesbian and bisexual students and students who report that they are not sure of their sexuality; and students with dependents.

"Over one-fifth, or 20.5% of UNM students, experience a double burden of both food and housing insecurity," noted the study.

"Preliminary analysis suggests that basic needs insecurity contributes to poorer academic outcomes," the researchers concluded. "Students reporting food insecurity were more likely to withdraw from or fail a course, and also reported lower grade point averages. Thus, this report suggests that food and housing insecurity contributes to disparities in academic success across demographic groups."

Next Steps

The study offers only a snapshot of the problem at UNM, confirming a situation that researchers suspected already existed. The study recommends a broad approach to address the problem. "Food insecurity and housing insecurity are substantial problems for UNM students and require a comprehensive, systemic, and sustainable response," the study said. "Efforts to address basic needs on campus must be attentive to the stigma that may surround these issues. Additionally, many campus offices, resource centers, and departments must work together to address the problems of food and housing insecurity in the campus community. The needs are too great to be the purview of one office especially if that office has numerous other mandates."

Connecting with Young Adults about Hunger in Albuquerque

Fifteen young adults from St. John XXIII Catholic Community in Albuquerque spent the night outside in cardboard boxes to get a small sense of what it feels for members of the homeless community to sleep outside. Youth director Sean Williams also wanted the young people to put their experience into perspective, so on Friday night he invited speakers from St. Martin's Hospitality Center and from Casa de las Comunidades Catholic Worker House.

Michelle Dakofsky, Roy Gabaldon, Celia Giallanella, Jacob Dakofsky, Sarah Dakofsky, Leon Joseph, Sean Williams

The next morning, I was honored to be invited to address the young people about hunger in general. By that time, only five young people remained to take my "quiz," which I created to facilitate conversation. The mother of two of the young people also came to listen to the conversation. I started the dialogue by discussing homelessness in the broader context of hunger. For many people in Albuquerque, homelessness often represents the face of hunger.

Working Families and the Parish pantry

Then we went on to discuss other folks who would be hungry in Albuquerque: working families, seniors, children. This gave me an opportunity to discuss our parish pantry, which gives out food to anyone who comes by the parish every Thursday. "No one is turned away for food," said
Maria Duran, director of social concerns at the parish, who also came to listen to the conversation." They come from all over the city and also our parish boundaries. Some walk from local apartments."

I presented some information from our pantry coordinator Sandy Guadet. "A great number of our Thursday people live in government sponsored housing in or around Montgomery Blvd," said Sandy. "Some even walk or ride a bike to pick up their bag of food. Most of our people are singles or couples. There are just a couple of families. We give those two bags, but it still isn’t too much."

I also offered information about hunger and homelessness among students in the Albuquerque Public Schools system and statistics provided by Roadrunner Food Bank and Feeding America about child hunger and hunger in New Mexico.

Then the discussion turned to the response of faith communities to hunger and the importance of advocacy and education. Many of the young people were already somewhat familiar with  Bread for the World because of the Offering of Letters we held in the parish in July. Our blessing of the letters gave parishioners another opportunity to learn about our church's involvement in advocacy.  '

Advocacy is important
In the context of advocacy and also a discussion of the responsibilities of the faith community to address hunger, I mentioned the misguided concept offered by some politicians that charities and faith communities could pick up the slack if the government were to cut public assistance (including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP).

I offered data from Feeding America, which indicated that the SNAP program offers 10 times the amount of assistance to hungry people in our country than the organization's entire network of 200 food banks. I also alluded to data from Bread for the World, which suggested that every congregation and faith community in the country, big and small, would have to increase its budget by $40,000 to make up for proposed drastic cuts in public assistance.

One of the young people then asked the question why politicians did not put more emphasis in ending hunger and poverty when they considered legislation. I commended her for her question and said this was the very reason why we engage in advocacy. I invited the young people to participate in the next Hunger 101 workshop on Sept. 13, sponsored by the Interfaith Hunger Coalition. The workshop, to be held at Congregation Albert, is designed for both teens and adults. 

A Close-Up Look at Poverty, Education, Gender Equity in Liberia

"National and international campaigns have played their part in influencing this culture change. Several parents [in Liberia] quoted to me a famous slogan: When you educate one woman, you educate the whole nation...The slogan, unlike many marketing schemes, isn’t much of an exaggeration. Educating women has immense benefits for society. Girls with an education have fewer children, raise their kids to be healthier, make stronger contributions to the economy, earn more money, spend that money more wisely, empower their countries and more... Around the world today, there are essentially as many girls enrolled in primary schools as boys — a fact worth celebrating."

Aneri Pattani in The New York Times Blog

 Columnist and author Nicholas Kristoff  invited university students to apply for his win-a-trip contest. The prize was not an ordinary trip. The winner would accompany Kristoff on a reporting trip to cover global poverty and social justice issues. The winner would blog about his or her experiences on the New York Times website, with the opportunity to participate in videos as well. "My aim is to generate interest in neglected global issues with the contest, and get more people writing about these issues," said Kristoff, who has organized this program since 2006.

The winner of the contest this year was Aneri Pattani,  who recently graduated with a journalism degree from Northeastern University in Boston.

Here is  a video that Kristoff posted via Facebook Live in late June. Kristoff and Pattani chat about their journey to Liberia. They discuss the experience of seeing up close the challenges of a lack of infrastructure and adequate health care in poor countries. Kristoff addressed the issue in his Sunday column and Pattani blogged about everything she experienced, including the some positive changes she saw in the area of education.

Children Speak Out on Hunger

More often than not, an Offerings of Letters involves primarily members of our own congregations, whether the  messages are written on site or from the comfort of our own homes. On those times when the Offering of Letters extends beyond the "walls" of our own churches, the results are great. Two years ago, an Offering of Letters at St. John XXIII Catholic Community inspired a parishioner to organize co-workers at Molina Health Care to write more than 80 letters to Congress to save nutrition programs.

The extended Offering of Letters has been a tradition at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Church in Albuquerque, thanks to Ellen Buelow and her team. In 2016, parishioners who participated in that year's Offering of Letters were inspired to bring the letter-writing activity to South Valley Preparatory School and Holy Ghost School.  This year, the Offering of Letters at Holy Rosary on March 18-19, again inspired Mary Ann Holland, a retired teacher, to bring the Offering of Letters to Holy Ghost School. The students produced more than 120 letters to Sen. Tom Udall, Sen. Martin Heinrich and Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Some messages were a fairly general request to ensure that people were fed. Others urged to address the issues that affect the homeless community. One letter specifically asked for help for Africa, with a specific mention of Sudan.  Below are samples of some of the messages that the Holy Ghost students wrote to Congress this year.

Immigration Panel at UNM on Friday

Greening the Revolution: A Food Justice Documentary Coming to #ABQ this Weekend

The producers of Greening the Revolution have teamed up with University of New Mexico's Food Justice Initiative and Food & Water Watch, to promote a screening of a powerful documentary on food justice. The film is set in Haiti, Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, India, Africa and the United States (including migrant farm camps and Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota).

"A high-definition documentary explores the far-reaching effects of international food injustice, from world hunger to the consumption of industrial food. Using food as a symbol of inequality, we explain and expose the corrupt cycle of globalization that perpetuates systems of poverty and oppressive social control," said the documentary producers. "We then present hope: successful, sustainable communities achieving food justice and freedom through the power of the people."

Screening Information
Saturday and Sunday,  
March 18 & 19, 1 p.m.
The Guild Cinema 
3405 Central Ave NE
Tickets $5 for students, $10 General

Join Director Katie Curran for a conversation about the documentary at Tractor Brewing Company, 118 Tulane Dr. SE in Nob Hill, 3 to 4 p.m. on each of the days of the screening

Lobo Food Pantry Has Served Hundreds of Students and Families

Early promo, LoboRESPECT Advocacy is now a sponsor

The cost of higher education and related expenses (on top of daily expenditures like utilities, transportation, rent, etc...) often limits the ability of students and their families from acquiring nutritious food. This includes fruits, vegetables and other essential foodstuffs necessary to keep those brain cells operating properly.

Enter the Lobo Food Pantry, organized and sponsored by LoboRESPECT Advocacy Center, the University of New Mexico Dean of Students Office, the UNM Office of  Student Affairs, and Roadrunner Food Bank. In the first six months of the program, the food pantry has served over 800 students and families by providing them with free groceries.

The next Lobo Food Pantry distribution is scheduled for 
Friday, February 17, 2017
UNM South Parking Lot on the southwest corner of Avenida Cesar Chavez and Buena Vista.

What to Bring
Valid student ID card
Box(es) or bag(s) to carry your groceries home
Friend/ family member(s) to help carry your groceries*

*Students may have another individual pick up their food for them if needed. Please contact theLoboRESPECT Advocacy Center to make these accommodations at 505-277-2911.


Other Upcoming Dates this Semester
(Same location)
Friday, March 24, 2017
Friday, April 28, 2017

*Dates subject to change – please call 505-277-2911 to confirm.

Thanks to the support of Roadrunner Food Bank, there is often sufficient food to serve clients.  However, financial donations are always welcomed and encouraged to keep the Lobo Food Pantry viable. Make a donation.

ONE Campus Organizer Maddy Vonhoff Visits New Mexico

Maddy Vonhoff, campus organizer for ONE, visited New Mexico at the end of August to develop contacts at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. ONE is seeking to create campus chapters at UNM and NMSU and community chapters in Albuquerque and Las Cruces. As part of that effort, Maddy (center) also held a meet-up at a local brew pub at UNM. Among those who attended were Sandee McCullough (to her left) and Sandra Perea (to her right). 

The new generation of potential ONE activists (working with Maddy,community organizer Mike Hogan and new local campus and community leaders) would build on other efforts by ONE in Albuquerque to fight global poverty, including a U2 Agape Service in 2007, a table to promote the fight against global poverty on Earth Day in 2010, an effort to to make global health and extreme poverty foreign policy priorities in the 2012 presidential election, a campaign to gain signatures for the Electrify Africa initiative in 2015.There is more in store in 2016 and beyond, and you are invited to join local efforts to fight global poverty.

Dear Congress, Please 'Make the World a Better Place'

Illustration from student at South Valley Prep School

Last year, children at All Saints Lutheran Church, St. Andrew Presbyterian Church and St. John XXIII Catholic Community wrote letters on paper plates urging our congressional representatives to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act, which was the subject of Bread for the World's 2015 Offering of Letters.

We counted the children's messages among the nearly 2,000 letters that were written in New Mexico to our Congressional representatives and senators. And Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham took notice.

Young people in Albuquerque are participating in this year's Offering of Letters, entitled "Survive and Thrive." Like last year's topic, children identify very closely with this year's campaign, which urges Congress to support funding for global nutrition programs for mothers and children. 

Thanks to the inspiration and efforts of Jessica Swan and Mary Ann Holland, elementary and middle school children at South Valley Preparatory School (SVPS) and Holy Ghost Catholic School wrote messages to Rep. Lujan Grisham, Sen. Tom Udall and Sen. Martin Heinrich.

Swan and Holland are both  members of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Community, and they coordinated the writing efforts at the school with the church's Offering of Letters in March of this year. Holland is a retired faculty member from Holy Ghost school and coordinator of the Care for Creation program at the school.

Students wrote 112 messages at SVPS and 60 at Holy Ghost School, adding to the totals for Holy Rosary community, which were surpassed 500 letters and post cards.

Many of the children who wrote the messages at SVPS come from low-income families. "These students can receive breakfast, lunch and dinner at school," said Ellen Buelow, a local leader for Bread for the World who has organized the Offering of Letters at Holy Rosary for many years. "Jessica supplies organic food to a number of South Valley schools, and she inspired these middle schoolers to write."

The website for the Rio Grande Development Corporation has a nice article on the work of David and Jessica Swan in the community. Here are couple of paragraphs.

Photo; From Swan Kitchen Facebook page

Most everyone remembers elementary and middle school hot lunches. Standing in line at the cafeteria, facing your three lunch ladies, having some food plopped on your try, and getting those cute little milk cartons. Often times we devoured our processed pizza squares and nachos, with an option to get processed fruits and most likely GMO veggies on the side. This is the scene I picture when I think of the traditional hot school lunch.

The school lunch experience is certainly a different one for kids buying lunches at Cien Aguas International School. Thanks to the passion and dedication of Swan Kitchen and Cien Aguas International School officials, hot lunches at Cien Aguas International School are prepared and served by Swan Kitchen using only fresh, fair, organic and local foods of New Mexico.  See full article.  Connect with Swan Kitchen on Facebook 

Students at Atrisco Heritage Academy Partner with Soutwest Organizing Project to Promote Hunger Awareness

"If you're hungry you can't learn. You can't be truly present in the classroom. There's parts of our community that have more of a child poverty reality," Antonio Gonzales, principal at Heritage Academy

A group of students at Atrisco Heritage Academy High School and activists from the Southwest Organizing Project have joined forces to spread awareness abotu ending hunger and supporting local farmers. They're doing it with lunch periods dedicated to learning about food justice, and they're putting lasting changes into motion.

"Having our basic needs met, having it down to the root where we have food in our communities because this year Atrisco is classified as a Title 1 school and what that means is that most of our population here at Atrisco are from low income families and stuff like that and that means students when they come to school maybe their only meal is at school," said student Joseph Cante. Here is coverage from KOB-TV, along with the video below

180,000 Meals for Local Pantries, Food for Kidz

On April 1, 2015,  students from St. Pius High School, Holy Ghost School, many of the parochial schools in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, St. Pius Alumni and many other volunteers came together to packag 180,000 meals. About 80% of the packages stayed in New Mexico for distribution to local food pantries, including St. Felix Pantry, Rio Grande Food Project, St.Vincent DePaul Ministry at the Shrine of St. Bernadette,  the Wherry Elementary School Backpack Program and other sites. The other 20% was loaded onto a truck for delivery to Food for Kidz, which will distribute the packages to locations where the food is needed. Kids from St. Pius did a great job of hosting the event for another year, and special thanks goes to the M.A.D. Against Hunger committee and the faculty and staff at St. Pius who made it all possible. -Ali Frumkin

Food for Kidz Annual Packaging Event on Wednesday

The alumni group of Kids Against Hunger (Food  for Kidz) has scheduled its annual meal packaging day at St. Pius X High School on Wednesday April 1.  The local group is part of the national organization Kids Against Hunger, which organizes youth to become involved in anti-hunger relief efforts.

The above video was produced when Kids Against Hunger came to St. Pius X High School in 2009. Volunteers  package highly nutritious, life-saving meals for children and their families in developing countries and the United States. A number of the alumni are now part of  the Kids Against Hunger chapter at the University of New Mexico.  Visit the alumni group's Facebook page.

 "We will be putting together the meals from raw materials that we have been raising money to purchase," said Ali Frumpkin, an alumni leader. "Eighty percent of the meals packaged will remain in New Mexico to help our local food banks, and the remaining 20% will be given to Food for Kidz to be delivered to another location in need." 

April 1 at 8:00am - 3:00pm
St. Pius X High School Albuquerque

5301 St Joseph'S Dr NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87120

An Invitation to Wear Purple (and Celebrate International Women's Day) at UNM on March 2

Oxfam Action Corps New Mexico and the UNM Peace and Justice Studies Program cordially invite you to International Women's Day on Monday, March 2, at the University of New Mexico Student Union Building (SUB),  Third floor (Acoma A & B), 7:00-9:00 p.m. Organizers will join together to honor accomplished and outstanding women in New Mexico, doing their part to make the world a better place. The event, which is held in conjunction with  International Women's Day, will include: a Q&A with successful local women, entertainment, light refreshments.

"This years theme make it happen will focus on the achievements of woman while calling for equality. We are planning on having fun and creating an atmosphere of empowerment and equality. Purple the color of justice and dignity, values associated with woman's equality. In 1908 woman the Woman's Social and Political Union in Great Britain adopted the color scheme of purple, white, and green to symbolize the plight of suffragettes. Today we honor woman everywhere with the color Purple," Oxfam Action Corps New Mexico. "Plan on celebrating with us. Wear purple if you like. Bring friends, family neighbors, children, and the men in your life are welcome."  Free and Open to the Public.  Join Event on Facebook

Urging New Mexico Congressional Delegation to Support Electrify Africa Act

In March of 2008, former State Health Secretary Michelle Lujan Grisham and City Councilor Martin Heinrich were among four Democrats seeking to replace Republican Rep. Heather Wilson, who was leaving her post to run for the seat being vacated by Sen. Pete Domenici. I caught up with Lujan Grisham and Heinrich and the two other candidates at an informal forum and asked them about their thoughts and solutions to address global poverty. Oh, and I gave them each ONE white band.  Read their comments.  

Heinrich won the primary and served two terms in the House before running and winning the seat vacated by Sen. Jeff Bingaman. Lujan Grisham was elected to the Bernalillo County Commission, and when Heinrich left his seat in Congress, she threw her hat in the ring. And she defeated four other candidates to win the seat in Congress.

Wearing a ONE band in 2008

Lujan Grisham among 297 supporters in House
Fast forward to 2014. Lujan Grisham is completing her first term in the House, and Heinrich has served two years in the U.S. Senate. Both have been strong allies in our efforts to address hunger and poverty in our country and overseas. While in the House, Heinrich cosponsored the Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009,  As a senator, he joined with Sen. Tom Udall and 22 other senators to call for emergency help to support food banks. Lujan Grisham has been steadfast in opposing cuts to domestic nutrition programs, especially food stamps. 

Which brings us to a recent piece of  legislation endorsed by ONE.  The initaitive, HR 2548  Electrify Africa Act of 2014)  requires the Administration to develop a comprehensive, multi-year strategy to achieve energy access goal in sub-Saharan Africa.

This bipartisan proposal was approved by an overwhelming margin.  And Rep. Lujan Grisham was one of 297 Yay votes.  But we already had an inkling that Rep. Lujan Grisham was going to vote this way. 

The basic premise is to make sure that it’s a priority, that we recognize that…the poverty of another nation puts us all at risk. -Michelle Lujan Grisham, March 2008

Incidentally, Rep. Ben Ray Lujan also voted in the affirmative, while Rep. Steve Pearce was one of the 117 Nay votes. See votes for full House.

“Today, both parties came together and passed a bill that not only promises to save and improve millions of lives, but offers a new way forward for assisting Africa – government working with private sector investment – at no cost to US taxpayers," said ONE CEO Tom Hart.

It PASSED! ONE applauds historic House passage of #ElectrifyAfrica, urges Senate action http://t.co/ndUSL9LF84 pic.twitter.com/P4nUJsBdbJ
— ONE (@ONECampaign) May 8, 2014

Then-candidate Heinrich in 2008

Attention turns to Senate
The strong bipartisan support for the legislation bodes well for the Senate. However, as of mid-May,, there hadn't been any legislation introduced in the upper house.  My sense is that both Sens. Heinrich and Tom Udall are likely to support this initiative. Sen. Udall's support is especially important because he sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

I think it's just a matter of priorities. We need to realize that when we do invest in developing nations and in reducing poverty, that has such an enormous impact on how people feel about us as a nation." -Martin Heinrich, March 2008

Sherif Aboubakr and Jielin Pan staff ONE table at UNM​

Local advocates are not taking the support of the two New Mexico senators for granted once the legislation is introduced in the Senate. On a recent Thursday afternoon in April, a group of student volunteers for ONE set up a table at the international fair at the University of New Mexico to gather signatures urging Sens. Udall and Heinrich to support Electrify Africa.

According to Mekdim Weldegiorgis, a ONE volunteer leader at UNM, the effort produced 20 letters to Sen. Heinrich and 30 to Sen. Udall.

UNM Nursing Students to Spend Two Weeks at a Health Clinic in Rural Western Kenya

Photo: Project Helping Hands

The village of  Oyugis is about 328 kilometers (about 200 miles) west of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi and just a few kilometers east of  Lake Victoria. See map. This is where eight students from the University of New Mexico College of Nursing will be spending two weeks in October.

The primary focus for this team is to provide general health care and health education services. "During our two weeks in Kenya we will be staffing a health clinic started by a group  of women, the Wa Wa Ti, who initiated the clinic because of the deaths of their husbands and children due to HIV/AIDS," said  Judith Harris, assistant professor at the UNM School of Nursing."

The trip is sponsored by Project Helping Hands, a non-profit organization that sends teams of volunteers to provide medical care and health education for people in nine developing nations. Teams support clinics and other health facilities in Kenya, Uganda, Liberia, Sudan, Bolivia, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the Philippines.

"While Kenya has a comprehensive social insurance plan, it covers less than half of the working population. Diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, dysentery, and tuberculosis are very common," Project Helping Hands said in a country profile.

Clinical Experience
Project Helping Hands has been sending teams to Oyugis for several years,and students from UNM health sciences programs have been among those who helped at the clinic for the two-week period. "I went to Kenya for the first time in 2010 and thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for students to have a clinical experience there," Harris said in an interview for the UNM Health Sciences newsletter. "It's important for students to see what other countries have available in terms of health care systems and the clinical experience they gain is vital."

Each day,  the clinic assists 300 to 400 patients of all ages.  "I was shocked with how many people we saw at the clinic, but the children stood out the most for me," said Antoinette Russell, who participated in an earlier delegation. "So many of them were without parents or any adults. They would walk with us to and from the clinic. Then, all of a sudden, they would say ‘goodbye’ and take off running somewhere else." Read more in "Take My Hand"

Bake sale in front of UNM Student Union Building, May 13

Raising Funds
 The cost of the trip per student is $3,700, which means that participants have to particpate in fundrasing activities over the next few weeks and months. "We are currently having bake sales, raffle sales, and other fundraising activities to cover the cost of the worthwhile endeavor," said Harris.

If you would like to help provide financial assistance for the students, please drop a note to Judith Harris, JMHarris@salud.unm.edu
There is an option on the Project Helping Hands site to donate on behalf of a particular student.  Harris will provide you with a list of the eight students.  (Two students have set up Web sites to raise funds Yeshemabet Turner and Matt Grindstaff)

The expenses related to the trip are not the only contribution required of team members.  They are also expected to gather and bring a  minimum of 50 pounds of medicines/medical supplies (or  take the "supply buy out option").

Spending time at the clinic is going to take a lot of hard work and dedication, but participants will also have an opportunity to broaden their cultural horizons. The trip includes a visit to the Masai Mara Wildlife Reserve.

College Students in Southwest are Invited to Regional Food Summit in Santa Fe on Feb. 27-March 2

Santa Fe is one of eleven communities around the country that will host a Winter Strategy Retreat weekend sponsored by the Real Food Challenge (RFC) campaign. At each of these regional strategy retreats, about 20-40 students and veteran organizers will come together for a powerful weekend of strategizing and community-building, workshops, cooking, skill-shares and storytelling. These retreats are geared for students who want to take on (or are in the midst of) real food campaign on their campus--and are ready to dive into RFC's regional and national efforts.

The Santa Fe retreat will be held from Thursday, February 27, through Sunday, March 2. 

The weekend  will include workshops and open time to explore:
~ issues & opportunities with corporate food service
~ the Real Food Calculator food procurement assessment tool
~ power & privilege in the food system
~ strategic campaign-planning
~ good group structures & facilitation
~ resource-sharing and planning among all participating student leaders and groups

(From the RFC Web site)

 "The retreat is a fantastic opportunity to build community with other student leaders from around the region, share & learn about the food system, and develop leadership and organizing skills for projects and campaigns to further support local, sustainable, fair food efforts on-campus," said Southwest Regional organizer Jeff Ethan Green.

 The full registration cost for housing, meals, and programming is just $35, and RFC can provide fundraising support.

For more information click on this link or contact Southwest Regional Field Organizers Jeff Ethan Green (jeff@realfoodchallenge.org) or Kelly Kusumoto (kelly@realfoodchallenge.org)  Please visit the Facebook Event that Jeff created for this Southwest Regional Summit.

Join Us at the UNM Campus on December 10 for Interfaith Prayers and a Commitment to Act to End World Hunger

A week from today (Tuesday, December 10), Pope Francis will ask people of faith and conscience around the world to pray and act to end world hunger by 2025. The prayer coincides with the gobal commemoration of  the UN's Human Rights Day and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including "the right to food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services (Article 25)."

At noon local time, a “Global Wave of Prayer” called One Human Family, Food for All," will begin in Tonga and will progress around the world until it reaches American Samoa some 24 hours and more than 164 countries later!

Lutheran Campus Ministry, Wesley Foundation, Hillel at UNM, Aquinas Newman Center Peace and Social Justice Commision and Bread New Mexico invite you to join us on Tuesday, December 10,  to offer our own prayers and reflections in solidarity with the call from Pope Francis. We will gather at Noon at Luther House, 1805 Las Lomas Rd. NE, University of New Mexico campus, Albuquerque. You are invited to bring your own prayers and reflections. Please stay after the conclusion of our prayers to share a bowl of soup. RSVP on Facebook.

If you are unable to join us, please feel free to observe the call to prayer and action at your own church or congregation this weekend.  You can add a simple prayer to your regular intercessions.  And on Dec. 10, take a minute or two to say a prayer for an end to world hunger.

Jeopardy, Wheel of (Mis) Fortune and Other Tools to Reflect on Hunger

On Wednesday, November 6, the The Commons Center for Food Security and Sustainability in Silver City, New Mexico, will be turned into a Game Show television studio. Okay, there won't be a full transformation into a studio, but a couple of games will be used to allow participants in The Fifth Annual Hunger for Knowledge Dinner to reflect on hunger.

The annual dinner, which is used to raise funds for The Volunteer Center of Grant County, is organized and sponsored by the Dr. Emma Bailey's Social Inequality and Sociology of Food classes at Western New Mexico University and by the volunteer center's staff. Tickets for the event, which will go from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. are $15.00. The Commons Center for Food Security and Sustainability is located at 501 East 13th and Corbin in Silver City. Please call the Social Science Department at WNMU at 575-538-6634 for reservations.

A Place at the Table on Campus

The community organization Project Feed the Hood, which is associated with the Southwest Organizing Project, is planning two campus screenings of the documentary A Place at the Table.  The movie is an anchor for Bread for the World's 2013 Offering of Letters.

On Wednesday, October 2, the movie will be shown at Garcia Honda Auditorium (George Pearl Hall) at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture. George Pearl Hall is located on Central Ave. next to the UNM bookstore. The proposed agenda is for the event to begin with a panel discussion at 4:00 or 5:00 p.m., followed by the screening of the film and a question-and-answer session.  " We are excited to bring you several community professionals to talk about food and how it affects our daily lives," said the event organizers.

Incidentally, Travis McKenzie, garden coordinator at Project Feed the Hood, was one of the members of a panel of community experts who spoke after the showing of A Place at the Table at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in July. That screening was organized by Partnership for Community Action, with financial assistance from Presbyterian Hospital and Our Lady in the Valley Episcopal Church. 

Second Screening at CNM
The date and details of the second screening have not been determined, but the location is known.  The event will take place sometime in October or early November in the Smith Brasher Hall auditorium on the campus of Central New Mexico Community College.  Smith Brasher Hall is located on University Blvd. and Coal Ave.  Stay tuned for more details.

If you are on Facebook, you can receive regular updates on the two screenings via this event site.  All you have to do is indicate that you are attending or click on maybe, and the updates will appear automatically on your news feed.

Feeding the Community with Food that Would Have Gone to Waste

"We actually waste 40 percent of the food that we produce in our country.  Forty percent of the food that is grown or produced is never eaten by anyone... And there's a huge impact of all that food waste on the environment, it's a waste of natural resources. You think about the water that it took to grow that food, and the fuel it took to transport it.  There's a huge need to recover that  food.  And that is one of the big roles that Roadrunner plays... We're taking food that would have ended up in the landfills, would have ended up as an environmental burden, and getting it to people who can eat it.   -Melody Wattenbarger, President and CEO, Roadrunner Food Bank, Albuquerque (during panel discussion following screening of A Place at the Table)

The Campus Kitchens Project was born out of a need to address the problem of food waste while providing university (and some high school students) with a service project.  The project is currently in place at 33 schools around the country, and organizers would like to expand participation.

"We partner with high schools, colleges and universities to share on-campus kitchen space, recover food from cafeterias and engage students as volunteers who prepare and deliver meals to the community," said the Campus Kitchens Project.  "Student volunteers develop partnerships, plan menus, run cooking shifts, organize drivers, garden, glean and teach nutrition education to children and families. They keep track of all of the paperwork (so we know everything’s being done safely), organize fundraisers, develop curriculum and recruit new students to get involved. They accomplish an incredible amount of work every day."

So how can your campus participate? The first option is to participate in a webinar sponsored by Universities Fighting World Hunger  this coming Wednesday, July 31,  at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Register Here for the session.  (Add UFWH on Facebook: Universities Fighting World Hunger and Twitter: @ufwhdotorg for updates on The Campus Kitchens Project and more)

If you are unable to participate in teh UFWH webinar, contact The Campus Kitchens Project directly.  You can start by reviewing the Frequently Asked Questions and then filling out the Getting Started Form   

And check out this video with more information.