The bottom line, according to Community Engaged Learning student worker Kira Schall, is that “having food security [is] not a privilege, but a basic right.”
At Drake University, student organizations are partnering with the IMPACT Community Action Partnership’s food pantry services to provide food access during the halting of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
SNAP paused during shutdown
On Oct. 1, the government shut down because Congress was seven votes short of the 60 needed to pass a spending plan that Democrats argued was not bipartisan in nature.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture posted a message on its website stating benefits from SNAP, which provides federal food assistance, would halt on Nov. 1 due to the shutdown. There was much back-and-forth between the courts and the presidential administration over the status of SNAP.
Late in the night of Nov. 9, eight Democratic senators broke ranks and helped the Republicans achieve the 60-40 vote needed to pass the spending bill. The government officially reopened on Nov. 12 after President Trump signed the legislation, ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services reported via their website that all SNAP benefits should be issued by Nov. 14. On this date, however, the USDA issued new guidance for states on how to comply with qualification requirements.
Participants will have to reapply, and work requirements are increasing as cases for exceptions tighten. For example, able-bodied adults without dependents must now prove they work at least 80 hours a month, are pursuing an education or are in a training program. For exempt parents, their dependent must now be under 14 rather than 18. Previously, veterans, homeless individuals and young adults transitioning out of foster care were exempt, but now they will need to meet the work requirements.
Food assistance on a Drake scale
This year, food insecurity is a primary focus of student organizations at Drake.
“Because of the federal funding with SNAP benefit cuts, that kind of thing, now we’re kind of transitioning into more of the community partnership,” Schall said.
The timeliness of food assistance programs facing challenges is here to stay, according to Harvard Kennedy School. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed earlier this year, funding for SNAP will be reduced by approximately $186 billion over 10 years. That’s a 20% cut, marking the largest reduction in the program’s over 60-year history.
On Nov. 5 and 6, Schall led official training sessions open to students to volunteer at the IMPACT Community Action Partnership food pantry.
“As we look ahead to the imminent loss of SNAP benefits for millions of people across the country on Nov. 1, Drake’s Student Senate and student organizations like Next Course Food Recovery have been working this semester on initiatives that support members of our campus and neighborhood who are in need — with a central focus on Drake’s partnership with IMPACT CAP,” an email promoting the training sessions read. The message was sent to students on behalf of Adina Kirkpatrick, the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.
As a student worker, Schall explained that the Community Engaged Learning office serves as a catch-all for the various service-based initiatives that take place in collaboration with a huge range of student organizations.
“[CEL is] a good central point for all of these leaders and collaborators on campus,” Schall said. “Which is why there’s a lot of people coming out of our office, but we want to maintain all of the partnerships that we’ve built up in this community.”
Strengthening those community and campus-based partnerships was a major goal of CEL this year, which aligned well with Student Body President Ty Walls’s goals to address food access and security issues, Schall said.
Gabrielle Brooks, who has long been interested in politics, community advocacy and civic engagement, attended the first training session as the Civic Engagement Senator of the Student Senate.
“Food security is one of the main focuses of the 39th Session of Drake Student Senate. I felt like it was my duty to do my part and show up for those in our community struggling with food insecurity in their time of need,” Brooks said. “Civic engagement is about fighting for everyone to have a voice in our democracy and supporting them when that voice is drowned out by unimaginable struggle.”
“We also are trying to make sure that students are educated on these [food assistance] resources,” Schall said. “They know that these resources are here for them to use, too. That’s especially relevant with what we’ve been finding out.”
Schall said she finds many students view the campus and the Drake neighborhoods as “us” and “them,” but “it’s important for students to understand that it’s not just us and them, that we are part of the community and very good with our community.”
Compared to the new restrictions being imposed on SNAP benefits, the IMPACT CAP food pantry has fewer barriers to access, which Schall wished more students realized applies to them, too.
“[Students] can go into the food pantry at any time. All they have to do is show an ID. No questions will be asked of them,” Schall said. “It’s really just available for anybody. And I think that maybe that might be a misconception for some people.”
By taking the time to volunteer in the pantry, Schall said, it becomes easier for students to realize that recipients are “just normal people, living their normal lives.” And that community involvement, Brooks described as not only favorable but necessary.
“There are people you interact with every day who don’t know where their next meal is coming from; there are families who are struggling to keep food on the table,” Brooks said. “Is it not right and good for us [Drake students] to take the opportunity to help those in need where we can? Is it not our duty as members of this community?”
