Published May 10, 2024
MONROE, LA – The University of Louisiana Monroe was one of six institutions in Louisiana to receive
the Hunger-Free Campus Award from the Louisiana Board of Regents. Each university
received $8,000 to help support their Hunger-Free Campus initiatives.
"Such good work is taking place at campuses across Louisiana around food insecurity.
Your efforts are directly helping students by providing access to the resources necessary
to address their basic needs and fuel their academic careers," said Susannah Fowler
Craig, Ph.D., Deputy Commissioner for Strategic Planning and Student Success, Louisiana
Board of Regents.
"The Division for Student Affairs at the University of Louisiana Monroe will utilize
Unlimited Lenses Magnifying Students’ Airlift (ULMSA) from application to graduation
should they experience food insecurity," said Dr. Valerie Fields, ULM Vice President
for Student Affairs. The ULMSA framework is meant to align with the mission of the
University and the Strategic Plan to provide a runway for each student’s life to be
changed.
According to the Louisiana Board of Regents website, the Hunger-Free Campus designation program was created by Act 719 of the 2022 Louisiana
Regular Legislative Session, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Freiberg. The Hunger-Free Campus
designation and grant program are a two-part mandate not only to recognize those campuses
that have established critical student services around hunger and related concerns
but also for the Board of Regents to develop a competitive grant program to support
our institutions in these efforts.
Other recipients of the 2024 Hunger-Free Campus Award include Louisiana Delta Community
College, LSU Health Sciences Center - Shreveport, South Louisiana Community College,
Southern University Shreveport, and the University of New Orleans.
ULM’s Hunger-Free Campus initiatives for the 2023-2024 academic year included a “Roll
Away Hunger” event in September 2023 in which students contributed non-perishable
food items to help stock the ULM Food Pantry and the “Swipe Out Hunger” program, which is sponsored by SGA each semester. As part
of the program, students with unused meal swipes can donate them to the swipe bank,
and students in need can complete a swipe request form. Meal swipes are then distributed
based on a review of need.
The ULM Food Pantry hopes to use a portion of the award to purchase a commercial refrigerator
and freezer to increase and store available food options by the Fall 2024 semester
that can be combined to create balanced meals by providing refrigerated and frozen
food items including meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, and frozen meals.
The ULM Food Pantry is located in the Student Activity Center at 210 Warhawk Way.
The pantry is open to all ULM students and staff, providing a valuable resource to
those in need with no questions asked. The Food Pantry works in partnership with the
Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana, but also accepts donations from the community. For
more information about the ULM Food Pantry, contact Elizabeth Wheeler at ewheeler@ulm.edu or visit ulm.edu/recserv/ulmfoodpantry.html to see hours and a list of currently needed items.
