Western Washington University

AS Food and Housing Insecurity Advisory Committee

Novemer 4th, 2019	VU 460

Board Members:	Present: Trever Mullins (VP for Sustainability), Rebecca Williams (AS Outback Coordinator), Anthony Phung (Residence Life Representative, Kayl Gillihan (SAIRC Outreach and Representative Coordinator), Britta Eschete (Career Services Representative), Alberto Rodriguez-Escobedo (SAIRC Coordinator), J Chaves Lande (Residence Hall Association Program) and Christian Urcia (Supervising Resident Director).
Secretary:	Sierra Templeton
Guest(s):	Lorrie Bortuzzo (Multicultural Services, Western Student Scholars)

Motions:
HIA-19-F-	None

I.	Call to Order

Trever Mullins, AS VP of Sustainability, called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m.

II.	Additions and Changes to the Agenda

None

III.	Approval of Minutes

None

IV.	Information Items
A.	Introductions

V.	Discussion Items
A.	Food Insecurity Urcia noted the presence of the Birnham Wood pantry is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, gives out food kits with 3-5 meals. The pantry is open to all students as long as they have a Western ID. After the food is picked up, the students are given a satisfaction survey to assess the product so undesirable foods are removed. Swipe Out Hunger is a program that Western is connected to nationally that works with the university to reassign meals to students experiencing food insecurity. Last year 4,500 meals were donated and distributed to 110 students, which would not have been possible without Aramark. This took 2 years to set up because of how complicated the system is, making sure that receiving meals won’t impact a student’s financial aid, etc. Extra meals that were donated could possibly be converted to money to fund food banks. Rodriguez-Escobedo mentioned the need to break the barrier between the community and the student population, as the students don’t always feel like part of the community and therefore able to take advantage of community resources. These outside resources are helpful because they don’t affect financial aid, community partnerships are key. Urcia clarified for Phung that students sign up to the Swipe Out Hunger Program every time that they wish to receive meals, it is not a quarterly or yearly program. Mullins asked the group whether or not they think that creating a network of food pantries, rather than having the centralized locations would be useful. He also asked whether anyone had input on permanent solutions rather than the patches we are currently using. Chaves Lande noted that the goal for the Birnham Wood Food Pantry is to have a representative at each residence hall group once a week for accessibility. Currently only open in Birnham Wood from 4-9 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Tuesday and Thursday blocked off for restocking of the pantry. Bortuzzo mentioned that with Senate Bill 5800 there may be some more funding, and we need to streamline the availability of resources to the students. Creating a wider visible presence to address food insecurity. Mullins asked if it would be beneficial to connect the representatives on campus. Chaves Lande noted that having information fairs in red square rather than inside might be a better way to reach students. Eschete noted that it is important to make sure programs on campus have the resources they need, ask staff and alumni for donations, and participate in the Day of Kindness which is occurring on November 13th in the VU multipurpose room and will have tables with areas for donations. Urcia mentioned that he thinks a centralized program is a good long term goal but Western isn’t set up for that, and as long as the smaller services are connected this may be a better overall route. Mullins asked how we can best manage and prepare for the people who are running the network, making sure there’s a good spread of resources throughout campus.
B.	Housing Insecurity Rodriguez-Escobedo noted that nationally, food and housing insecurity go hand in hand, and because of that this is likely the case for Western. There are good examples of emergency housing programs in Tacoma, and mentioned expanding the Residence Hall coverage. Chaves Lande mentioned that she knows people who have had trouble contacting someone to do with the out-of-state housing lottery and she questioned what the requirements for preference were. Rodriguez-Escobedo noted that students who aren’t able to get housing off-campus, due to out-of-state restrictions or undocumented students should get a higher preference over others because a lack of preference is inherently unequal. Bortuzzo mentioned that the Hope survey should get the results back in the spring and SB 5800 may give the university funding for housing and food insecurity. Mullins noted that there have been incidents of students sleeping in their car being ticketed, need to make sure there are protections so this doesn’t happen. Also responded to Chaves Lande’s concerns over legal battles off-campus that there is a legal information center that gives resources to students, but this will soon be taken over into a larger office. Did note that there is no one on campus who actually is able to support students legally at the moment. If there are open rooms or housing on campus, is there a way the university can fill them with students who don’t have housing, need a focus on setting up emergency housing in the case of fire or eviction due to codes being broken.
C.	Next Steps Mullins asked where the committee wants to focus their attention this year, does the committee want to be more of an advising or action board? Williams noted that having a network so that resources on campus had a connection would be a good first step. Creating a group email, program, or something to stitch everyone together. Bortuzzo mentioned having a webpage on Western’s website to do this. Mullins said that creating a sharepoint for internal plans would be a good way to discuss resources and to create a team calendar. Phung asked whether it would be possible to work through MyWestern or Canvas to that all students, staff and faculty are aware. Christian mentioned using WIN to create a webpage, and Mullins mentioned that this would be a good, easy first step. Williams noted that there will be an event, Eat Well on a Budget hosted in the AW 204 from 4-6 p.m. on November 19th.
VI.	Reports
None, as this is the first meeting.
VII.	Other Business
A.	None

Trever Mullins, AS VP of Sustainability, adjourned this meeting at 3:59 p.m.