Dr. Lauren Shook believes everyone should be able to eat without worry. The assistant professor of English Studies has been an activist for, teacher of, and scholar on food security for the last eight years. She’s even writing a book, “A Place at Shakespeare’s Table,” focusing on how Shakespeare’s works engage with hunger and what we can learn from him and his time about our contemporary food insecurity situation.
Pivoting from 16th century England, Shook and her colleagues on the Krost Symposium Committee wanted to examine how this issue was affecting local college students. As the university’s premier academic event, TLU’s annual Krost Symposium highlights an important, timely topic as it relates to the campus and larger state-wide, national, and even global discussions. On October 18-19, Everything is Bigger in Texas: Even Hunger will provide a deep dive into how various populations have been and continue to be affected by hunger.
“Food insecurity, a term that extends beyond the biological state of being hungry (something that everyone has experienced), encapsulates the reasons why individuals, families, and communities lack regular access to healthy, nutritious foods,” Shook said. “Essentially, folks who are food insecure live a life not knowing where or how they will secure food. In the popular imagination, college is a time of hunger. Students eat packets upon packets of ramen noodles, and we consider this culturally acceptable. Our event hopes to challenge and change this stereotype.”
According to her, college students are even more vulnerable, given that many are more focused on paying for tuition or textbooks over securing food. Others may not have reliable transportation to go to a grocery store, and some may not even know how to cook. Data from research done by Dr. Shook and Communication Studies major Caroline Hrncir ’23 shows TLU’s population, unfortunately, aligns with national findings.
“While many students have meal plans, just as many do not,” she said. “The reasons for rampant hunger are endless. A 2016 national report showed that of 3,765 students surveyed, nearly half (48%) experienced food insecurity; 57% of that number came from African American students, and 56% were first-generation. Hispanic and African American communities face food insecurity more than white households, and COVID-19 only exacerbated these numbers. As a reminder, TLU is a Hispanic Serving Institution (over 40% of our population), and the majority of our students are first-generation (55%).”
Shook hopes attendees will leave inspired to help with ideas that create change in their communities. Exploring the topic from multiple levels, many of the invited speakers are regional Texas scholars doing nationally recognized scholarship on food insecurity.
“We also seek to hear from community organizers,” she said. “We will consider why hunger exists on TLU’s campus, in Seguin, in Texas, and in the United States, more broadly. Additionally, the symposium aims to be interactive, academic, and interdisciplinary.”
Thankfully, TLU is taking steps in the right direction to help our students, Shook said. The university has partnered with Swipe Out Hunger—a national nonprofit that helps redistribute unused meal swipes in dining halls to students in need. Students can reach out to Dean of Students Kyle Wych to learn more about how they can receive or donate meals. Thanks to the Student Government Association, TLU Assistant Director of Athletics Administration & Compliance Coordinator Andie Janicek, student volunteers, and generous donations, the TLU Food Pantry was established on campus in September 2022.
Additionally, the student group, EnAct, which focuses on environmental issues on campuses, runs a free community garden open to students, staff, and faculty.
“This year’s Krost aims to tap into the very core of TLU’s values of faith, community, and social justice,” Shook said. “TLU’s Strategic Plan asks that we be ‘attentive to the social and economic mobility of our students,’ and TLU’s Commitment to Social Justice states that we are ‘called to work alongside people on the margins to empower them and to improve their quality of life.’ We want our students to seek ways to change the world. What better way than to ensure everyone, including our students, can eat?”
Giesber Keynnote Speaker Dr. Ashanté M Reese
Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 7 P.M. in Jackson Auditorium
A writer, anthropologist, and associate professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at The University of Texas at Austin, Giesber Keynnote Speaker Dr. Ashanté M Reese’s talk, The Conditions for Nourishment: Notes on Food Justice, Delight, and the Black Radical Imagination," will draw from previous ethnographic research conducted in Washington, D.C., new research on prison agriculture, and lessons learned from community-based organizations to offer insights into how to create equitable food systems. For a full list of events and speakers, visit www.tlu.edu/krost.
Donate to the TLU Food Pantry
If you are interested in donating, please visit www.tlu.edu/food-pantry and designate your monetary gift to the TLU Food Pantry. The pantry is also most in need of nonperishable microwaveable meals and personal hygiene products like body soap or shampoo/conditioner. You can drop off these items and any other donations at the Student Engagement Office located in the Alumni Student Center next to the Post Office window.