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Kiki Garcia, a Metropolitan State University of Denver sophomore, chopped onions while chatting with a group of three other Auraria Campus students helping prepare a Three Sister Stew.
The group working together on Tuesday to make the Native American dish shared where they were from and their connection to food. The four students lamented their chopping skills at a stainless steel chopping station while the classroom kitchen filled with the aroma of hot olive oil.
The cooking session was part of the Health Center at Auraria Cooking With Purpose class, a free event held once a month for up to 18 students meant to teach participants valuable lessons in cooking for themselves. Some of the ingredients can be picked up from the free food pantries at Auraria’s three schools — the University of Colorado Denver, MSU Denver, and the Community College of Denver.
Health center officials hope the cooking class lessons also break down any stigma of using food services on campus, especially with so many students there facing food insecurity. The center serves the three schools located at Auraria.
The center’s approach, launched in partnership with MSU Denver’s Rowdy’s Corner food pantry, adds to the growing number of resources schools are providing to address student hunger, such as food pantries, mobile markets, and snack lockers.
Nationally, an estimated 23% of college students in 2020, or about 3.8 million students, experienced food insecurity — including many who skip meals or do not have enough to eat.
And since the pandemic, in the face of rising food costs, more students than ever are expected to have food needs.
Food security is high on the three school campuses, said Margarita Driscoll, the health center’s marketing and education coordinator. For example, an MSU Denver study found that almost 60% of MSU Denver students reported experiencing food insecurity. Most also didn’t have access to a convenient way to prepare their own meals.
The class does more than just teach about cooking and on campus resources. Driscoll also makes sure to direct students to federal SNAP benefits, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
But the chance for students to get hands-on experience with the food in the pantries is the goal.
“If a student doesn’t know what to do with acorn squash and how to make it taste good,” she said, “then it’s not very helpful to have all this extra food.”
At first, Garcia, 19, didn’t view the class as a way to combat worries about putting food on the table. When she transferred from Pueblo Community College, she just wanted to make friends. The class seemed like a good way to do that.
As a busy student, Garcia said it can be easy to grab something cheap but unhealthy while she’s on the go — or go without eating altogether. Food prices are high, she said, so sometimes she has to make hard decisions.
“I have conversations with my mom where I talk about how I get very stressed about money,” she said. “I’m not making as much as I was before, so it becomes hard to balance.”
She’s found that she has to worry less about putting food on the table thanks to MSU Denver’s Rowdy’s Corner food pantry. Garcia works two part-time jobs while also studying to major in political science.
The cooking class has helped her connect to the MSU Denver food pantry and she’s started to visit regularly. Even before she showed up for the event, she stopped at Rowdy’s Corner for eggs and milk. She doesn’t really think about any stigma behind using the food service any longer, she said. Instead, it’s more like a grocery store.
Other students feel the same. Fellow MSU Denver student Grace Glassman, 18, who worked with Garcia to make the stew, said she doesn’t think twice about using the food pantry. She’s there almost daily.
Driscoll said the health center also wants students to know recipe cards from the class are available to them when they visit the pantry. Students can also find recipes for the meals online, and she said she hopes to expand the resource by including video tutorials.
Many recipes try to cater toward the student body by incorporating cultural elements, such as Hispanic foods because of the size of the population on campus. Driscoll also added the health center is cognizant about what’s usually provided in the food pantries, so the meals tend to be vegetarian because meat isn’t often available.
Garcia said the classes have reinforced her passion for cooking and connected her more to her culture. She wants to learn about Lebanese food from her grandma.
She also has made friends. And thanks to the classes and the pantry, she said, she has the added benefit of not worrying about where her next meal will come from.
Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.
