Student Volunteers Focus on Food Insecurity During Service Day

4 colleges. 220 students. 10,000 meals. Fewer hungry families.

On August 23,  two dozen USciences students traveled to Scranton, PA to join in a service event that marks the beginning of a partnership with students from three other institutions to help fight food insecurity in the region.

Students from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM), Keystone College, Lackawanna College and the University of the Sciences spent the day at GCSOM taking the first steps toward building a living case study centered on how food insecurity impacts community. From nutrition and education to food deserts to the economics of nutrition and healthcare, the students studied existing research and ways to make positive change. 

USciences students said the participating in the experience was meaningful and a great way to start off the semester.

“I enjoyed meeting new people who had the same interest as me and helping the community,” said Bharathi Balaji Bio’22

Partnering with Geisinger’s Springboard Healthy Scranton initiative and local nonprofit, Here for a Reason, students assembled 10,000 meals to be distributed this fall to families with children at schools in the Scranton School District. At the schools targeted, a staggering 100 percent of enrolled children qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, increasing the likelihood that their families struggle with food insecurity – a serious obstacle to learning, as well as a social determinant of health well within the power of communities to change.

Laura Do DPT’23 shared the experience on USciences’ Instagram Stories with a student takeover for the day. Watch it here.

Categories: News, Students, Event, Community, Community Service, Student Life, USciences