Were you ever a "starving college student?” If so, you are not alone; the experience is so commonplace that we think of hunger as a normal part of college life. The reality is, though, that the experience of struggling to get enough nutritious food indicates that most college students face food insecurity, which reduces their ability to succeed academically and maintain mental and physical health.
The Department of Sociology's official student club, the Food Insecurity Network (FIN), was founded to help address this problem - and we need your support this WWU Give Day. Since 2023, FIN (Associated Students' Social Justice Student Club of the year in 2024) has provided important education and resources to students across campus, which has helped hundreds of students gain access to nutritional programs and directly distributed over 6,500 units of food via the club-run Arntzen Hall food pantry.
 Arntzen Hall Pantry – Hosted by the Sociology Department in AH510 |  Methods and Recommendations from FIN 2023 Capstone Research |  Methods and Recommendations from FIN 2023 Capstone Research |
Despite these achievements, we anticipate FIN receiving no administrative funding for the 2025-2026 academic year. We already rely on faculty donations to stock the food pantry, and a loss of administrative funding would make it impossible to continue delivering the services that our students have come to count on.
If student retention, wellness, and success are important to you, we request a donation to the FOOD INSECURITY NETWORK this Give Day to ensure that we can continue providing education and resources to students facing hunger in our department and across campus. Thank you for your support!
For more information about the Food Insecurity Network and the Arntzen Hall Pantry please visit the club’s Instagram page and/or email club faculty advisors Dr. Melissa Osborne (osbornm7@wwu.edu) and Dr. Phil Pendergast (penderp@wwu.edu).
Please use Sociology Department as the Fund Designation to donate to the FOOD INSECURITY NETWORK student club.
We greatly appreciate your support to #WWUGiveDay! To learn more about the department, please follow us on Instagram @wwusociology or find us on WWU Sociology Department | Facebook.
