ASWSU unanimously approved to place a $5 student fee initiative on the ASWSU ballot, which would support the WSU food bank in creating a sustainable solution for student food insecurity, during a meeting Wednesday.
Currently, volunteers operate the food pantry. Donations come from community members and businesses like the Community Action Center and Moscow Food Co-op. Volunteer efforts are not a good long-term plan to address the issue, said ASWSU Senator Oluwanifemi “Nife” Shola-Dare and referendum co-author.
“We should all be surprised, and also disappointed, that there is nowhere in WSU’s budget that is allocated for the food pantry on campus,” Shola-Dare said.
ASWSU Senator Nife Shola-Dare is creating a food insecurity fee to ensure WSU students will not be worried about where their next meal will come from.
Shola-Dare said she wanted to create a specific fee because food pantries on campus operate on donations and volunteer work alone.
“The food pantries here are all donation-based, so if we don’t get donations, basically the supplies will run low,” she said.
Her plan is still in the early stages of development, but Shola-Dare said she wants to eventually have each student pay $5 that would be paid through their WSU account to go toward the program.