We call it the Auburn Family. Do we realize that our family is suffering? Do we realize we are allowing our family to go hungry?
Food insecurity within our very own University. Within our own family. What can be done?
The 2015 poverty line for a family of four in the United States is $23,850. At Auburn University, many employees make below this line.
Auburn is a flourishing university, and no one should be working full time and not be able to put food on the table.
Auburn’s employees are divided up into pay grades from 24-42. For the fiscal year of 2014-15, those in grade 24 make a minimum of $15,100 and a maximum of $25,200. The maximum amount possible that one in grade 24 could make is just over the poverty line for a family of four, and the minimum is a little over $8,000 short.
The living wage for a family of four is $37,527. Although these employees are technically making enough to satisfy the poverty line individually, they cannot satisfy the living wages line and many are suffering from food insecurity, which is defined as a lack of access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times due to financial resources. Since they are caught in between these two lines, they are suffering, but not able to apply for government-funded programs such as WIC, SNAP or TANF.
This nation-wide injustice is happening in our own home, in our own family. Not only are many of the employees of our beloved University suffering from food insecurity, but many of our peers.
The estimated cost of attendance for an undergraduate Alabama resident is $14,582 per semester. For an undergraduate non-resident, that estimated cost is $23,174 per semester. For a graduate Alabama resident that cost is $14,579 per semester, and for a graduate non-resident, that cost is $23,165 per semester. Estimated cost of attendance consists of tuition, books and supplies, room and board, personal/miscellaneous and transportation. In Alabama, minimum wage is currently set to $7.25 per hour.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the maximum amount of hours to be considered part time work is 34 hours. This means that the annual salary of a part-time employee making minimum wage and working 34 hours per week is $12,818.
The first stanza of the Auburn Creed states, “I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work.”
While we believe that one can only count on what he or she earns, we also believe in education. Education is nearly unattainable for some who are working hard to count on what they earn. How can students who are paying their own tuition survive on this? They can’t. Many are forced to eat meals low in nutritional value or not eat at all.
Do we, as Auburn men and women, realize that this is happening? We pay thousands and thousands of dollars each semester to this University, and a handful of our students and employees are going to sleep each night hungry?
We have just allotted an estimated $13.9 million to making our video board in Jordan-Hare the largest in the nation. For what? How can we solve this problem?
Besides simply raising awareness, Auburn has many programs and organizations dedicated to fighting hunger. Campus Kitchens Project is a student-led, on-campus food pantry that takes recycled food from the cafeterias and turns it into a meal for those who cannot otherwise afford one.
The Committee of 19 leads the War on Hunger on campus. Each school and college is represented in the Committee of 19, as well as different clubs and organizations.
The Beat Bama Food Drive is held each year in competition with the University of Alabama in order to collect non-perishable foods for the East Alabama Food Bank. Information about any of these programs or organizations can be found on the University’s website.
Auburn’s students are fighting to make a difference. Will you join them?
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
