Janie Velarde

This article was an issue piece for my Reporting 2 class

Securing a Better Future by Fighting Food Insecurity 

By: Janie Velarde

I met Jesus Vilches, and a dozen other students, on a rainy afternoon huddling beneath a canopy situated in the University of Oregon’s (UO) amphitheater. Instead of flocking around the EMU Starbucks like most of their peers, these students are waiting for the UO Produce Drop to open.

Since our very first interaction, Vilches has been transparent and open with me about the struggles he faces with food insecurity as an international graduate student from Guanajuato, Mexico. He even invited me to sit down with him and his wife, Sarah Agou, to discuss their experiences with food insecurity in more detail. Agou is an international student from Dijon, France.

The newly-wedded couple are both first-term graduate students studying Romance Languages at the UO. Vilches and Agou met 2 years ago at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio while they were completing language-based master’s programs. They’ve been partners ever since.

When I first entered Vilches and Agou’s office in Esslinger Hall I noticed three Honeycrisp apples and a half-loaf of wheat bread perched on the moonlit windowsill. The meager food items were the same ones Vilches picked up from the UO Produce Drop where we initially met a week prior. The haul of food looked picked at but hardly devoured. 

“Food programs like the Produce Drop are kind of like a mattress pad to cushion your fall,” Vilches explains. “It’s protection during an emergency for me and my wife.”

They decided to transfer to UO for a more diverse experience. However, transitioning from the 15-week semester system to the fast-paced quarter system has proven itself to be a struggle due to homesickness, challenging academics, busy schedules, complicated finances and lack of accessible food. 

“There is not a lot of diversity in what we eat,” Aguo laughs. “I think we’ve had rice almost every day since September, it’s not ideal but it’s fast and cheap.”

“One week we splurged and had some pasta,” Vilches chimes in with a hollow laugh.

With eight to ten hour work days and a monthly budget of $150, fast and cheap food options are the only thing they have time and money for. To put that into perspective, $150 a month for food is equivalent to $5 a day– or the same price as your venti double-shot mocha frappuccino. 

By the end of the month, they are typically depleted of finances and food. It’s times like these they take advantage of the resources provided by UO. 

“The food services really help when we need it most, but we’re still careful not to take too much because a lot of people struggle,” Vilches says. 

Statistically Vilches is spot on. During a 2018 survey, conducted by Hope Center for College, Community and Justice at Temple University, “36% of UO students are food insecure.” That’s nearly 2,000 students at UO alone. 

Unfortunately, the issue of food insecurity doesn’t end with UO. The information showed graphic below is also provided by the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice. The graph reflects the issue of food insecurity among students in the US as a whole.

Just like Vilches, Aguo, and one-third of his peers, UO sophomore, Filipe Selzak is no stranger to food insecurity. Growing up in Portland he and his family lived paycheck-to-paycheck while relying on just enough food stamps to get by. He still carries some of that impact with him.

“I could see that it was hard for them at times. I still feel guilty and sad that they had to struggle all those years on top of working full-time; now I know what that’s like” Selzak reveals.

These struggles with food insecurity continue to affect Selzak through his college years. Selzak still benefits from food stamps, but this program has its flaws. He carefully budgets his food stamps so he doesn’t run out too early on in the month. Even with considerable budgeting, Selzak sometimes runs out of stamps and is forced to resort to fast-food. However, he’s found solstice through the programs provided through student services provided by the university.

“I live on a tight budget because I have to pay for housing, personal medical costs that aren’t covered by insurance and school when scholarships don’t come through,” Selzak shares. “It felt like I had no support until I learned about the resources available for students like me.”

Eugene community members and UO faculty are working together to alleviate issues of food insecurity for all types of students so they can feel supported and be successful in their academic endeavors. 

One of these helpful community members is the Reverend of Eugene’s Episcopal Campus Ministry, Doug Hale. Reverend Hale is a former UO student and Head Coordinator of the Student Food Pantry for the past seven years. 

When Hale’s predecessor first established the pantry in the Fall Term of 2011 it was a small operation that was only available on a biweekly basis. During Hale’s time at the pantry he has seen the program go through a series of improvements. 

In Winter Term 2013 the pantry formed a partnership with FOOD For Lane County, a non-profit food bank dedicated to providing accessible food to eliminate hunger in Lane County. Hale joined the pantry shortly after this. With more fresh food available through FOOD For Lane County, the pantry’s days of operation changed to once a week. When this occurred, Hale observed a significant increase in the number of students visiting the pantry.

“In the winter we were serving maybe 45 students, then by the spring we were serving around 65, and by fall term we were serving 95,” Hale explains. “I remember thinking ‘Holy cow, where is this going?’”

No one expected the pantry to become the operation it is today. Now, the Student Food Pantry is open every Wednesday and Thursday in an effort to accommodate everyone. On average they serve around 200 students a week and this number is projected to grow even more. Expansion plans are in the works so the pantry can keep up with the growing demand for accessible and affordable food. Grace Lutheran Church on 17th and Hillyard offered a larger space for the Student Food Pantry to take root. 

“I hope that we’ll be able to make the move over Winter break, but more than anything I just want the pantry to keep functioning as well as it is right now” Hale comments. 

Even some students are joining in the battle against food insecurity among their peers. Food Security Programs Coordinator and graduate student, Alice Morrison joined UO’s Student Sustainability Center last spring. She owns a small-scale vegetable farm in Cedar Flats, manages a modest farmers market, attends UO’s graduate school program for nonprofit management and has also survived periods of food insecurity. When she told me all of this I couldn’t help but wonder how she even has time to breathe.

As a busy graduate student, Morrison personally understands how important it is for college students to have accessible and affordable food choices.

“In college the main priority is to master your course material and soak up educational opportunities,” Morrison points out. “If you are hungry, that takes away focus and mental capacity, and it reduces your chances of being successful.”

This is the Produce Drop’s second full year partnering with FOOD for Lane County and it has benefitted the program greatly. Ever since Morrison took on this role she’s noticed immense improvement in the program. 

“Working in this role has given me a lot of hope for the momentum these programs currently have. We have a ton of institutional support and we’re making progress in expanding our programs” Morrison reflects.

Students like Vilches, Aguo and Selzak all fall below the 200% poverty line. As shown in the chart below, this means them make less than $2,082 a month. This also means they can visit the UO Produce Drop when it’s open on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. However, not everyone takes advantage of this program.

Information above provided by payingforseniorcare.com

While speaking with students attending the produce drop I observed a consistent pattern. Even though every student attending was considered to be below the poverty line, most of them felt that their experience with food insecurity was not severe enough to be included in this article. Some students were even hesitant to visit the produce drop entirely. Vilches and Selzak were the only two who felt inclined to share their experience.

Morrison believes this is because of, “the trope that college students only eat ramen noodles,” and there is some truth to that. As a culture we’ve normalized food insecurity among college students because it’s such a widespread issue, but that needs to change. 

UO is taking strides toward a more food secure campus. In 2018, President Schill set aside $85,000 from the pilot program to better support food insecure students. With that funding the university developed four successful programs, Ducks Feeding Ducks, Produce Drop, Leftover Textover and SNAP enrollment. This year, the university has budgeted $97,000 to help those food programs grow.

The effort to alleviate food insecurity among UO students is clearly present, and it has been helpful for individuals like Vilches, Aguo and Selzak. If these programs continue to grow students will benefit from the extra support. As long as there are people who care, like Hale and Morrison, food programs will improve in the years to come. 

“I feel confident that we will continue with our success inch by inch and student by student,” Morrison says. “I have a lot of hope for the momentum these programs currently have.”

This piece was an event story for my Reporting 1 class

Don’t Hide Your Pride

By: Janie Velarde

The LGBTQ+ community and allies celebrated Pride Month together with a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (RHPS), hosted by student-run theater troupe Forbidden Fruit, on May 31.

Rhps is a reigning tradition in the queer community. When the movie came out in the 1970s, being queer was considered a mental illness by many people. RHPS is one of the earliest films with queer representation of any kind. The cult classic is riddled with politically incorrect terminology and stereotypes. However, underlying themes of sexual freedom and inclusivity resonate with members of the LGBTQ+ community. Live performances of RHPS satirically recognize the offensive nature of the film and use it as a form of queer empowerment.

“In a way we are reclaiming a lot of the negative stereotypes people have against queers in the 1970s because the queer community made a really offensive movie into a form of gender expression,” said Visual Director Felix Anderson.

Troupe members walked through the aisles and sold prop bags to the audience. Normally some money raised is donated to charities such as Women’s Space, and the rest goes back to the theater troupe to fund more shows and group retreats. For this event they raised around $100 and donated it all to celebrate Pride Month.

The Pride event was free admission and did not have a minimum age limit, so younger LGBTQ+ individuals could attend as well. The event was open to both students and non-students. The show was located at the University of Oregon’s Global Scholars Hall Great Room, only a short walk away from the dorms where many first-year students reside.

“It can be scary for younger queer people to attend their first Pride event but having it right on campus makes it so much easier,” Anderson said. “I don’t know of any other event as welcoming as this one.”

To encourage crowd involvement individuals who have never been to an RHPS performance, well-known in the community as Rocky Virgins, went on stage to participate in games. The activities were closed to minors due to adult content. Winners received a lap dance from one of the cast members or a pair of phallic-shaped glasses.

“This is my third time at the Rocky Horror Picture Pride show and it’s always so much fun,” said Erin Potter, former University of Oregon student. “Everyone here gets to be unapologetically queer and it’s nice to see.”

This article was a short feature writing assignment for class

Havoc Without a Helmet

By: Janie Velarde

Audacious guitar riffs surged from Mike Cantrell’s, 27, amplifier as he performed an original piece in the comfort of his one-bedroom sanctuary. Lyrics about conformity and mortality intertwined with the notes materializing from his instrument. Closing his eyes, his feet began tapping to the beat. One hand danced along the fret while the other picked at the strings.

Cantrell is the lead guitarist and singer of punk band, ‘Standard Issue.’ Though his family was not always supportive of his dreams to start a band, Cantrell found support within the music community. As the final note reverberated, a grin spread across his stubbled face. Cantrell gushed about his passion for a while longer before asking, “Do you want to see the scars?” Pushing his unruly hair to the side, he revealed two white incision marks.

On the morning of December 15, 2016, Cantrell drove to Jurupa skate park to clear his head. However, he forgot one important piece of equipment—his helmet. While attempting a trick, he landed flat on his head. As an avid skater, Cantrell was used to failed attempts, so he drove to 65^th skate park to try again. The same scene occurred, except this time his body collapsed when he tried to get up. An ambulance rushed him to the hospital. Having fractured his skull in two places, Cantrell fell into a coma for eleven days. He regained consciousness after two surgeries, but lost a portion of his skull and ability to walk. None of those things mattered to him because he was lucky enough to be alive, and everyone knew it. Bandmember Matt Raney, 39, revealed, “I thought I was never going to see my friend again.”

Despite not being able to walk initially, Cantrell never lost his ability to play guitar. During his recovery, playing the guitar became a way for him to heal emotionally and mentally. Cantrell began to realize that his family’s criticism should not dictate his life. “Expectations are like a disease,” Cantrell explains. “If you’re just living for others, are you really happy?” With this realization, Cantrell quit his job as a carpet cleaner, so he could pursue his life’s purpose and focus on what truly makes him happy, creating punk music.

Since the accident, Cantrell has regained full mobility. He even plans on booking international shows in the future. Until they have the funds to tour abroad, Cantrell and his band will be writing music for their upcoming album and performing along the West Coast. Unlike most artists, Cantrell’s goal is not to make it big. His main hope is that their music will help the outcasts of the world feel less alone, just as it has done for him.