Food Equity Student Council Works to Address Food Insecurity at UTEP

Published November 10, 2023
By Darlene Muguiro
UTEP College of Health Sciences

The UTEP Food Equity Student Council (Council) has been working hard over the last several semesters to promote food equity at UTEP. The 16-member interdisciplinary group, which includes undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students from across UTEP, recently proposed a set of resolutions to the UTEP administration, including the establishment of a potential community garden at UTEP and mini food pantries, as well as a name change for the UTEP Food Pantry. The name change was recently approved by the UTEP Student Government Association and is awaiting further approvals before becoming official.

“The students really wanted to reduce the stigma associated with food pantries, and were also concerned with the types of food available at UTEP’s pantry as well as the operating hours, so they’ve begun to think of ways to reduce stigma and promote the support services available at UTEP through social media,” said Dr. Eva Moya, chair and professor of Social Work, and faculty sponsor for the Council.

One of the top items on the Council’s agenda is to film videos and share recipes on social media, all aimed at reducing stigma around food insecurity. Recently, Council members completed Sabrosa Vida training, led by CHS alum Dr. Sarah Ruiz. Sabrosa Vida sessions teach participants about healthy cooking, with a focus on culturally-appropriate foods.

April Ansari, a research assistant and doctoral student in the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences PhD Program, said that council members discussed the need to promote skills related to creating nutritious meals on a budget. Tandra Ghosh, Master of Public Health student and Council member, suggested reaching out to Ruiz, who had previously taught a nutrition course at UTEP designed to address these issues.

“Dr. Ruiz came to the Council meetings and worked with our research team to adapt her Sabrosa Vida training modules to UTEP students,” said Ansari. “The cooking classes demonstrated the Council’s teamwork in preparing meals as they bonded over food and further discussed the meals from their different cultures.”

Moya says that she anticipates students will use what they have learned with family members and other students they come into contact with in their roles as Council members.

“I consider this training to be a high-impact EDGE experience, because we’re not only dealing with content, but we’re also seeing students interacting and sharing what they’re learning with one another,” said Moya.

Over the next several months, the Council will finalize planning for establishing healthy snack stations across campus. The first station will be built in the Health Sciences and Nursing Building, with other stations being planned for venues within the College of Liberal Arts and College of Education, and the Chemistry and Computer Sciences Building.  Long term, the Council is also hoping to establish a community garden on campus, which will help to provide more sustainable solutions to address food insecurity. Council members also plan to visit Mustard Seed Café, a local nonprofit whose mission is to feed El Pasoans in need, to learn more about community gardening.

“The students are very passionate about establishing the garden,” said Moya. “They want to learn about the soil here on campus, and potentially using what we grow. This is a longer-term project, and we need to wait for UTEP to be set up appropriately for a community garden.”

In early December, the Council will present to Feeding America during a campus visit about what they’ve learned and what they’re working on. Feeding America is the nation’s largest nonprofit working to end hunger. In 2022, Feeding America funded a multi-agency team led by UTEP to examine the root causes of poverty and food insecurity in El Paso as part of its Food Security Equity Impact program. To learn more about the team’s findings, please visit: https://elpasoansfightinghunger.org/files/41636-FS-ReportFinal2023-01-10.pdf

If you are interested in learning more about the UTEP Food Equity Student Council’s work or joining, please contact April Ansari at atansari@miners.utep.edu or Dr. Eva Moya at emmoya@utep.edu.

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