By Mary Alice Murphy

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WNMU held a town hall at the Besse-Froward Global Resource Center on Nov. 29, 2023 to address food insecurity among students.

WNMU President Joseph Shepard opened the event by commenting that people probably were wondering why the university was holding such a town hall.

He noted that if students do not have nutritious food or are going hungry, their ability to learn and study was greatly impacted.

Shepard introduced the Board of Regents Chair Mary Hotvedt and Vice Chair Lyndon Haviland. He also announced Haviland and her husband had given a generous endowment to kickstart the effort that they were addressing that evening. The university would match the amount to push the initiative forward.

'"We want to create a model for our state and perhaps for the country," Shepard said. "We want to be a part of fixing the issue. It takes leadership. Some of you may be wondering what we are doing with some of our land. We are going to talk this evening about what we're doing. The Commons is doing a great job, and we'll ask Dave (Chandler, director) to give an update. We do have a food pantry, but just imagine that you just lost your job and you're worried about feeding your family, but you have pride and don't want to go to a food pantry because of the stigma.

"I want to hear from you," he continued. "I don't know how to address food insecurity, but I can provide funding to help develop food sustainability. I want to point out Priscilla Lucero of the Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments, who in addition to everything else she does for the community, will be a partner in this effort as well as WILL (Western Institute for Lifelong Learning), which may become a part of this effort."

He then introduced Serita of New Mexico State University. [Editor's Note: He never gave her last name.]

She said she was proud to be there: "This is very innovative what is going on here. I just did a study with a team statewide on college student food insecurity. I teach human rights, and I've been looking at food insecurity as a worldwide problem. And then I started to wonder what was going on on our own campuses. That opened up a huge problem and a huge opportunity. We found out that 58 percent of our students are food insecure. Nationwide about 10 percent of households face food insecurity. After about 10 years of research, we find ourselves on the deep, deep end of this problem. It's also a problem that only about 40 percent of those who start as freshmen graduate in the U.S. That is an egregious dirty little secret. So what is the correlation between food and housing insecurity and people not graduating? It's also a question of diversity. Those least likely to graduate are students of color. If we want to graduate more students of color maybe we need to invest more in food and housing security. Food pantries are becoming more permanent and students tell us how important they are, but a stigma is attached to that. All kinds of things need to be done. We need more from our federal government; we need more from our state government, but we need more from our regents and our college campuses. So it's exciting to see this effort and going back to building a consortium to do more. The USDA has four levels of insecurity - high, marginal, low and very low. By far, our students are at the very low level. 38 percent of that 58 percent are at the very low end, so that means they are skipping meals regularly or experiencing hunger and losing weight. I'm really excited to be here among people who are thinking about food security."

She took questions.

A man asked how to define food insecurity. She replied that the high and marginal levels define food secure. The low and very low levels mean not having access to food that is nutritious and safe, nor culturally appropriate. "When I first started doing this it was about calories, but now what type of calories matters."

A woman asked how people can get access to good nutritious food, when the fast food is not the most nutritious, but it is the most often available.

Serita said on her campus, they are hiring corporate food services to run the food services."Students constantly tell us that it's cheaper to buy junk food. So we have to do a lot more to make nutritious food available."

A woman said she knew the study also looked at graduate students and faculty and staff.

Serita said they learned that graduate students also had food insecurity. "We were also surprised to find out that faculty and staff also faced a large amount of food insecurity across the state."

Dave Chandler of The Commons spoke next.

"We have four part-time staff and more than 65 volunteers," Chandler said. "Over the next 14 months, we will distribute almost a billion pounds of food. We did a venue today and more than 250 households were served. We hold them at Cobre and Silver schools, too, and the amounts we are handing out are unprecedented. At Silver Schools they handed out 150 boxes of food on Thanksgiving in about 20 minutes. It's off the charts right now. We're been doing this for 20 years and we thought we'd fix the needs, but it continues to get worse. The level of desperation we are seeing is heart-breaking. We need to help these families earn more so they can afford nutritious foods. C'mon down and help us out.
We have five venues, including one in Hachita, one in Mimbres, one in Cliff and in Silver City and Bayard. The first part of our mission is to meet immediate needs. But the second part is important - it is to build resiliency. We have a commercial kitchen where people can learn to process food and sell it. We had a culinary club at Western this year. College students came and made meals for themselves and extra ones for freezers. They have them at the university for students who need them. It was an innovative approach and we will continue the pilot program at the university."

To a question about funding, Chandler said he was so glad the question was asked. "The Commons is the largest food distribution program in the state that is fully locally funded. We don't get federal funding; we don't get state funding; we don't get county funding. It's all by donations. We do write grants from foundations. But the fact that we are locally funded shows what a special place we live in."

He also talked about the Farmstead program, which reduces stigma and the client choice program.

"We are part of the statewide food banks," Chandler said. "So we also receive food from Albertson's and Walmart that they don't want. In addition, neighbors who have extra food, leave it at our farmstands and people can come by and pick what they need. It's so cool, we're really onto to something. We realized that people are sharing their food with their neighbors at our farmstands. We decided to do a pilot at the schools and they were a huge hit. It sometimes takes a while for the neighbors to catch on, but by the end of the school year, we will have 13 farmstands at 13 schools. It also helps the social dynamics of the neighborhoods, with people helping one another."

On the client choice issue, he noted that during the pandemic the governor mandated that food deliveries be curbside not inside buildings. "We had volunteers risking their lives, and the donations were off the charts. We kept them curbside because we can't break the habit of doing it so efficiently. We set out the food and the families can choose whatever food they want instead of us just handing them a box. So it gives them choice and dignity and it reduces waste. It gives us a change to talk to then personally, too. So we're breaking ground to continue the process."

Gordon West noted that good stuff was going on at the old Chinese Gardens, too. "We have two large greenhouses and the composting project is moving down there. What we don't have is people coming to grow stuff. Is there any possibility of connecting up the folks that would like to use good agricultural land to grow stuff?"

Chandler said that might be something that Ben Rasmussen of the Food Hub could help with, as he works with growers and farmers trying to get into the business.

"If we can engage our students, our faculty and our neighbors to do more of this, it will help the university increase their sustainability, too."

"The cool thing about the culinary club was that, all of a sudden, we had 10 or 12 students at our place learning to do what we do and they started volunteering with us," Chandler said. "Whenever we get young people on our campus, their energy, their creativity, their ideas really help us as an organization. I think we will be able to expand."

A woman asked who would be the contact for the culinary club and the activities at The Commons and the Chinese Gardens.

Chandler said they would ramp up again in January, and he would get the information to her.

He said when he came on board about three years ago, neighbors came to him complaining about the fence around their property, and it was just a bunch of old white folks handing out food, and the trucks coming through the neighborhood were a problem.

"So, we decided to start holding a free monthly dinner where people could come to eat and share their concerns and ideas," Chandler said. "That has grown and it's about 60 people coming. It's become a broad group of our neighbors who look forward to coming and building community with us and with each other. It's also been a big part of the de-stigmatizing process."

A woman asked him to talk about the seed library.

Chandler said one of the partners is a seed library. "Gardening and seeds are a powerful force that people can use to create resiliency. We bring school children over every semester to see the gardens and talk about gardening. Our neighbors can have a small spot of their own. The more we can encourage that the better. Every school should have their own gardens, which will grow into farmstands."

A woman asked about composting opportunities. "It's my experience here trying to garden that you need a whole lot of compost. Why are we throwing out green waste?"

Carol Ann Fugagli talked about the New Earth Project. "We are taking food waste from the schools, mixing it with shredded wood and forest waste to create what is called Johnson-Su compost that is really rich in microbial content. That's one kind of composting. It's living soil. I've been thinking about food security for many years. I think it breaks down to two things - health and education. We go into the schools and teach about gardening and gardening, so it's not just about trucks bringing food to the area. I have a vision of the university having a requirement for classes in gardening and composting. So they learn those skills by doing it on campus and going out into the community to teach it. It's teaching them lifelong tools. There could also be a required community service class. There is so much experience in our community and get community members to go out and teach, too. We know we have to change our agricultural practices that are killing our soil."

Shepard went into what the university is proposing. He asked Kimberly to talk about the university food pantry and program.

"We started the food pantry about three months ago," Kimberly said. "Dave has been instrumental in how to run a food pantry. The culinary club does bring us frozen meals. We also get food from the Gospel Mission that gets more than they need. We have the pantry in our student life lounge, so it just looks like a student coming to the lounge and they have access to the pantry. We give them recycled bags with food in them. We're been doing things like grocery bingo, so people know about the pantry. We have almost anything they need, and students know if they ask me, I'll see if I can get it."

A student said he goes to the food pantry and Kimberly makes it easy. "But I see macaroni and I know how much I want it, but I don't have the tools, pots and pans or a place to cook it. I can grill, but I don't have the tools to cook. Without the tools to cook the potatoes and onions we can't use it. I have a solution. If we have an extra apartment that is empty, maybe we can use it to cook food."

Shepard said: "We think we're doing a good things, but I hadn't thought about preparation."

He said there were challenges with required classes because of certifications. "I plan to use some of the the kick-start funding to put some greenhouses down Mississippi where we have some land. We have fences because of deer and vandalism. We would like to plant enough food to augment the Commons, start out with our students and parents where we work with our partner agencies, such as Silver and Cobre schools. We would require students to participate in the growing of the food, so they can take it elsewhere. I'm looking at a program where students do the equivalent of three hours of service a week, all at once if they want to, and it doesn't have to be at the university, where they participate in the growing of the food. It's a learning experience. And in exchange they get all their produce. And if they want to do more, we can start looking at the protein part, not just the produce. That way we can begin to develop a model. That's just in my little head."

A woman who graduated from WNMU with honors, said she took a course at OSU in permaculture. "It was a forest fire of inspiration for me."

Shepard said the university is in the process of hiring a director to be in charge of the program, and it may be a requirement to also teach.

Mike Fugagli said part of the reason for the composting project is as a climate solution. "I've heard a lot about food security, but nobody talks about the future and the trends. I'm sure you're all aware that the world is more food insecure than ever. We're at 420 carbon parts per million. Part of this whole discussion has to be about addressing the climate crisis. We have to have a carbon drawdown. We ned to change the agricultural system. We are part of the global carbon drawdown. The 100 reactors we're going to build over the next year at the Chinese Gardens are going to be tied into global research. We want to solve the climate crisis. We would like the assets of the university to be involved."

Shepard said they needed to have a conversation about the issue. "We can't get to carbon subversion until we get to carbon neutrality. But I believe we can get there."

A woman said she hoped the garden the university plans would be organic or at least chemical-free. "I applaud what you are doing. I am a neighbor and I want to be involved. "

Shepard said they had done a poor job of talking to neighbors when they put up the fence. "We're trying to do better with the fence rather than chainlink that fits in better and is a bit more ornate."

He said he plans to take $5,000 of the donation and give it to The Commons. "But there will be a match, and that's where you all come in. You'll have one week to match it. If it's more we'll consider it."

Rasmussen said he has heard so much potential in the community. "We talk about gardening, composting, transportation and so forth. Grant County has so much knowledge in the community." He suggested a steering committee to work on the projects.

Shepard liked the idea and said he was willing to fund a position at The Commons to oversee the volunteering and the projects. Chandler eagerly agreed.

Gordon West, who had talked originally about the Chinese Gardens, said he is focusing on education., "and also a concept called a circular economy. We're talking about food sustainability, but we're talking about 12 vectors that are part of the circular economy. I own Gila Woodnet, which works on forest projects, but we're also working on the production of biochar, which is the sequestering of carbon in the soil. What I'm missing is people who can come and work with me, people who have experience in business, STEM and in philosophy. This is potentially bigger for the university than just food."

Shepard said a question had come in on Zoom about how to involve other departments such as social work. He asked the Faculty Senate to discuss the issue. "I think this should be a university discussion, not just from the administration."

A woman said she sees the horticulture part, but it should involve local plants and other departments. She also thought a kitchen on every dorm floor was a good idea. "This is our future and it's so cool to see the community supporting it. I ask for updates on the project to the student body."

Shepard said he had a challenge for her. "I want you to get your colleagues in the student body to get involved. You pay a lot in student fees. That goes to the Associated Students. You can start to move that needle."

Lucero said she was born and raised in the second lowest income community in town. "A lot of my work is with community. How do we start to engage our rural population? I want to be able to teach a skill. When I do that with children, they get so engaged they go and teach their parents. I also want to talk about seniors, who are low-income and many who cannot leave their homes. I would like to see students prepare food to take to them. If we don't have our basic needs met, we can't do anything else. The social workers can do that. We have many talents in this community. How do we collaborate more to offer these services to the seniors? It will help alleviate the isolation they have. We need to continue to have those relationships."

A woman said she has thought about what the university is doing. "I haven't heard one word about whether Silver City is involved and even interested. What are they doing?"

Shepard said that was a question for Silver City.

A woman with the Seed Library, which is located at The Commons. "We are very active in the area. We give away the seeds. What is important is that as our climate changes, when we grow the seeds and save them to use them, they become more resilient. We want to support food resiliency by teaching about our seeds."

Regent Chair Mary Hotvedt said the library that is needed is to save all the knowledge of the community before it is lost. "I also think it's important for the students to have a place to cook their food. Raised beds, waist high, is so easy to control the soil and water usage, and makes it easier for seniors that can't bend over any more. Maybe the students can build some and install them at seniors' homes so they can garden, too."

A man said he sees a lot of ideas being shared and "I want to volunteer for the coordinating committee. One of the things that shocked me with The Commons and the Silver City Co-op was that there was no conflict resolution built into their system. I'm versed in a few processes that can help them with issues such as burnout. I would like to put myself out there to offer those services to help them find commonality."

Shepard asked those who were interested in helping with some of the committees and programs to give their names and email addresses to Julie Morales, vice president of communications, who had a pad of paper in front of her. Morales said the QR code on a card that was available led to a website where people could leave their information and ideas.

A woman noted that she started a program in Arizona to harvest fruit that was not being used. "I mapped thousands of trees. I took it further so the owners could notify us if they wanted to sell their fruit at markets."

Another woman said the community already has a map of Silver City fruit trees.

A man said: "When we talk about food security and quality, as well as the quantity of what grows in the area, the university could adopt a procurement policy for local foods. It's been done on the state level. One thing the state has developed is a resource for the bioavailability of local food products."

Shepard said the program will start locally, but "we're looking to expand it to a 150-mile radius ultimately. It's because certain foods don't grow well here, but they grow well within that radius."

A woman suggested the university's excellent school of nursing could be involved. "If you have children who are not getting the nutrition they need, they might have medical problems. The same with seniors."

Shepard said it's complicated because of state regulations. "Do we have people here who can determine if people are getting enough nutrition?"

Melanie Goodman, local representative for U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, says she comes to Silver City often from Las Cruces. "I've always been so impressed with the community here and how involved they get in projects. I think there are so many ways you can go with this issue. I think involving the students is key. And I want to mention the policy aspect, too. Ben (Rasmussen)'s work with the Food Hub is getting involved in state issues on ways to tackle these problems. I would like to stay in touch, because you will have good ideas for the state and ultimately for the federal level. Ben Ray is working on this issue, and I can connect him. I want to thank you all for addressing this issue."

Another woman said she wanted to add that a future city councilor was in attendance, Stan Snider, and she was glad to see him there.

Hodvedt asked if Shepard wanted to talk about the tree initiative with the city.

Shepard said it is an urban forestation process, which pulls a lot of the carbons out of the atmosphere. "At the university, over the past 12 years or so, we have planted at least 500 to a thousand trees. We want to take that and expand it out to Grant, Luna, Hidalgo and Catron counties."

"There's so much energy here, don't forget about the match for The Commons, and I will be held accountable to create a steering committee," Shepard concluded. "Please give your information to Julie Morales. If you felt you didn't get to give a comment, go to the website and leave it. We are not going to have food insecurity here, and you will be part of it. Let's go out and make a model successful for the rest of the country to say: 'They did something right.'"