Reynolds responds as food pantry use reaches record high across Virginia
Based on reporting by Megan Pauly for VPM. Read the full article here.
Food pantries on college campuses across Virginia — including Reynolds Community College — are experiencing record-breaking demand following recent disruptions to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). As reported by Megan Pauly of VPM, the ripple effects of federal benefit interruptions, combined with rising living costs, have left thousands of college students struggling to meet basic food needs.
According to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), nearly 8,000 community college students in the state received SNAP benefits in the 2021–22 academic year, and thousands more are eligible. With many students relying on these benefits, even temporary disruptions have created immediate hardship. Rachel Strawn, coordinator of student support networks for the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), said nearly all community colleges in the system now have campus pantries — and several others are preparing to launch them.
During a recent statewide call, she described the surge in need as unprecedented, with some colleges reporting that their pantries were restocked on Tuesday and empty again by Thursday.
State support has been slower to arrive. Although lawmakers approved a one-time $500,000 Hunger Free Campus grant program earlier this year, SCHEV has not yet administered the funds due to staffing transitions. In the meantime, the Virginia Community College Foundation is distributing $5,000 grants to each community college to help meet emergency needs, including food assistance.
At Reynolds, the spike in demand is clear. Kristen Holt, Reynolds’ student support services counselor, said she has quadrupled the number of grocery-shopping trips she makes each month to keep shelves stocked. About a quarter of Reynolds’ pantry inventory comes from Feed More, a key food distribution partner for local colleges, with the remainder purchased from area grocery stores. Throughout the fall semester — and especially in November — record numbers of students have visited the pantry, many of them new to the resource and returning multiple times per week.
Students shared with VPM the difficult choices they’ve faced. Reynolds student Keona Beamon said she had to pause paying her light bill when her SNAP benefits were cut during the government shutdown. Others, like Breeanna Bowen, earn slightly above the income threshold for SNAP but still struggle to feed their families despite working multiple jobs. Single mother Dontonya Jones said she recently had to dip into her savings, originally meant for a house, just to buy groceries.
Reynolds welding student Alahjuan Georges credited the pantry with helping him stay enrolled. The resource, he said, “shows that we actually want you to succeed.”
The pressure on community resources is also spilling over to Feed More, which has had to dramatically increase purchasing to keep up with demand. Chief programs officer David Waidelich told VPM that the organization has done “in three or four weeks” what would normally take an entire year.
Despite the challenges, Waidelich emphasized the strength of community support and expressed hope that collaboration will continue helping students and families weather the current crisis.
For more information on food banks and pantries across Central Virginia — including campus locations — visit VPM’s resource link in the original article.