One out of three students are dealing with food scarcity in the United States and some on-campus groups are hoping to confront the issue on Grand Valley State University’s campus.

“Food scarcity is hard to describe, but it is basically when a student is having a hard time getting enough food to be able to completely satisfy themselves,” said Kyle Hacomb, who helps run Replenish through the Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity.

While there are a lot of people that could be dealing with food insecurities at GVSU there are things that can be done in order to help fight this issue here on campus. One of those strategies is directly donating to Replenish, or one of the other on-campus groups that host food drives.

Replenish is a resource center on campus that is available to every student, regardless of financial status. They house basic necessities such as food, hygiene products and clothes, for those in need of warm clothing during the winter. Replenish will also partner with other organizations and offices around campus in order to gather donations and help keep them stocked.

Student Senate partnered with Replenish in order to help run a food drive, and be able to help the community and students who may need help around this time of the year with just about anything of importance that they may need.

“As President of Student Senate, hosting the food drive for Replenish is something I wanted to plan in preparation for the upcoming holiday season because I know the holidays can be tough for students who may not have a home or family to go to and I don’t want food to become another issue that they have to face,” said Autumn Mueller, Student Senate President.

Replenish partners with the Campus Activities Board, Greek life, clubs, campus housing and many more groups around campus. They facilitate three to four food drives a month in order to secure supplies and food. In addition to donations, Replenish is hoping to garner student consciousness of food insecurity and resource scarcity on campus. 

“If there is one thing, other than food, that I hope people take away from these events is the awareness of not only Replenish but the needs of other students who may need help,” Hacomb said.

Replenish is accepts donations of any kind throughout the year. Members of the GVSU community looking to donate can bring items in good condition to Replenish or the Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity whenever the offices are open, located in Kirkhof. Students with questions are welcome to contact Replenish (616) 331-7867.