When Olivia Bowles began attending Tuskegee University, a historically black institution in Tuskegee, Alabama, she realized the campus was a food desert; An area with few options for affordable, healthy food. According to Bowles, it was a culture shock. I quickly learned that the only way to get healthy food was to drive to Auburn, but I didn't have a car. I had to rely on friends to take me to Walmart and Publix Prices are also higher around the university, he added Bowles chose Tuskegee because it met his criteria for a college "Being away from home, experiencing a new culture, meeting new people, getting vet school," she added. He wanted to attend a historically black college or university (HBCU) — but, he hadn't visited the campus before enrolling in Covid, not realizing Tuskegee was a food desert.
According to University of Southern Mississippi professor ZW Taylor, "Many institutions of higher education are located in remote and remote rural areas or densely populated urban areas where grocery stores are few and far between." According to the National Center for Safe and Supportive Learning Environments, one in three people in the United States suffers from food insecurity.
Olivia, now a senior, realizes that many college students qualify for federal aid, and guides new students through the SNAP enrollment process to ensure access to healthy food. He volunteers for an organization called Bread for the World and tries to help students. Bread for the World aims to highlight the issue of hunger in the country and around the world. According to Bowles, "What drew me to Bread for the World after coming to Tuskegee was the lack of healthy food in the area and the complexity of signing up for SNAP benefits. When you go to college, you want to make a difference." world to advance their mission at Tuskegee University.”
When helping students apply for benefits, Bowles tells students, "If you don't make money or work-study, if you don't have a food program, you can apply for SNAP benefits." "Many students feel stressed because they know they need SNAP benefits but don't know how to apply," she added.
Bowles shared that she has friends at Tuskegee University who rely heavily on the dining hall to make their meal plans, but the cafeteria closes at 7 p.m. Students who are late for extracurricular activities may not receive nutritious meals. According to Bowles, "Having SNAP benefits allows students to go to Walmart or Piggly Wiggly to buy food."
Although there is often a stigma attached to receiving public assistance, "I think on the Tuskegee campus, in the city of Tuskegee and in Macon County, the stigma is not that great," Bowles said. I work at the local Piggly Wiggly and people often use SNAP at the grocery store. In fact, students are proud to receive SNAP because you're not wasting money.
Originally from Virginia, the Bowles family runs Farm Share, a community supported agriculture (CSA) sharing program. They have fresh fruits and vegetables. According to Bowles, "We do it 7-8 months a year. I love to cook and cook." "I am disturbed and outraged about the lack of healthy food around Tuskegee. There is no reason children in this area should not have access to healthy food options," Bowles added.
According to David Straight Bread for the World, "Olivia is an incredible advocate for people facing food insecurity, including students at Tuskegee University. While working with Olivia, I was inspired by the way she took steps to inform her peers who were eligible for SNAP. Even then, though.. .As young as she is, she has become a strong voice for her colleagues urging Congress to pass a farm bill that would expand SNAP and ensure every food insecure person has access to the program.
HBCUs often fall into food deserts due to decades of systemic racism in urban and rural settings. According to Bowles, "When I talked to friends who visited other black colleges, we noticed that many of the black colleges were outside major cities, but they had very little food around them, which meant health." "College towns have more options around PWIs," he added. "I'd like to see black graduate colleges address this."
Just before the coronavirus pandemic hit, a survey of nearly 167,000 students found that fewer than 1 in 5 food-insecure students (about 40% of those surveyed) were enrolled in SNAP. This leads many students to opt for "cheaper, less nutritious meals consisting of foods like rice and ramen noodles." Students who do not have regular access to adequate food are less likely to graduate than their food-secure peers. thinks the road "That's what makes Olivia's work so important."