\n<\/p>\n
With rising food costs and uncertain federal food-assistance benefits wreaking havoc on families nationwide, Alicia Wright has found relief in an unlikely place: her community college\u2019s food pantry.<\/p>\n
Wright, a student at Roxbury Community College, said her campus food pantry has been lifesaving, especially as she juggles classes while raising her 6-year-old daughter, Olivia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018Oh snap\u2014I don\u2019t have to trek around Boston to find food from other local pantries,\u2019\u201d said Wright, a theater major who is scheduled to graduate in 2027. \u201cHaving it right there really changed the game for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wright is one of more than 1,500 students who have relied on the pantry, better known as the Rox Box, since its launch in October 2023, according to Nancy Santos, RCC\u2019s Project Access director.<\/p>\n
Roxbury Community College students shop for food and personal care essentials at the Rox Box.<\/p>\n
Roxbury Community College<\/p>\n
Designed to mirror a neighborhood grocery store, the pantry carries items such as food, diapers and personal care essentials and is funded entirely by the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I find myself going to class thinking about how I didn\u2019t go grocery shopping this weekend, I know I can pick up something from the Rox Box,\u201d Wright said, adding that students receive 30 points each month to redeem for items they need.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat lets me be more present in class\u00a0\u2026 [and] really does allow peace of mind,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n
Like Wright, nearly 60\u00a0percent of college students nationwide have experienced at least one form of basic needs insecurity in the past year, according to a recent Hope Center survey.<\/p>\n
According to Swipe Out Hunger, a nonprofit dedicated to ending college student hunger, student visits to campus food pantries have increased by 30 to 50\u00a0percent over the past year across its more than 900 campus partners nationwide.<\/p>\n
Origin story: <\/strong>The Rox Box started as an extension of Project Access, an initiative designed to address the nonacademic issues that can prevent degree completion at the Boston-area college.<\/p>\n Santos said the Rox Box has met a strong need, serving more than 300 students each month.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really taken off,\u201d Santos said. \u201cWe see the athletes and everyone walking around with their little bags that say \u2018Rox Box,\u2019 and they\u2019re proud that they\u2019re going.\u201d<\/p>\n Roxbury Community College Project Access director Nancy Santos (right) sitting with a student worker at the Rox Box.<\/p>\n Roxbury Community College<\/p>\n She noted that demand continues to rise, with more than 1,700 visits from over 1,500 students between September and December 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know the need is out there, because 1,700 visits on our campus is a large number when we only have 2,400 students enrolled,\u201d Santos said, noting that RCC\u2019s student body is predominantly Black, Latino and Pell Grant eligible.<\/p>\n Santos said she regularly surveys students who rely on the Rox Box and has found that nearly 40\u00a0percent worry their food won\u2019t stretch until the next time they can afford to buy more, while nearly 30\u00a0percent have changed their eating habits to make the provisions last longer.<\/p>\n She underscored how the federal government shutdown last fall contributed to growing \u201cuneasiness\u201d and \u201cinsecurity\u201d around RCC students\u2019 food needs.<\/p>\n This comes as nearly 40\u00a0percent of public college students in Massachusetts experienced food insecurity last year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe numbers are alarming to us,\u201d Santos said. \u201cOur faculty have even shared that they can sometimes see students are distracted or they don\u2019t come to school if they\u2019re hungry\u00a0\u2026 [and] it really does affect their grades.\u201d<\/p>\n To ensure the Rox Box runs smoothly, Santos said, they hired a coordinator who is an RCC alum and had previously relied on the pantry.<\/p>\n \u201cShe started as a work-study, so she worked in the pantry with us, and when she graduated we hired her back,\u201d Santos said. \u201cIn doing so, the students identify with her and they see there\u2019s a path. They see where they are isn\u2019t where they\u2019ll always be.\u201d<\/p>\n Santos said the pantry helps students feel supported and actively works to reduce the shame around needing help.<\/p>\n \u201cI often say that the shame is not that you are food insecure, the shame is that [food insecurity] exists,\u201d Santos said. \u201cDon\u2019t pretend it isn\u2019t happening. Address it and embrace it and let\u2019s figure out a way to wipe it out.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s next: <\/strong>Santos said starting a campus food pantry is a \u201cbig undertaking\u201d but worthwhile for other institutions looking to create their own.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are a small college, but we care for our students,\u201d Santos said. \u201cWhen students are fed and when they\u2019re able to concentrate and really study, it helps them go across the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n Wright agreed, adding that actively listening to students\u2019 needs and implementing those changes really fosters a sense of trust and community.<\/p>\n \u201cWe tell them our views and what we need and everything, and then we see things being done about it,\u201d Wright said. \u201cIt really allows us to feel seen, heard and supported.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, Wright said, RCC really gets it right about seeing students \u201cholistically.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not just students\u2014we\u2019re entrepreneurs, we\u2019re parents, we\u2019re our parents\u2019 caregivers,\u201d Wright said. \u201cA lot of us are already full-grown people who have lived life and know how to survive, [but] we just need a bit more support that shows [the college is] here for your success.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to help students battling food insecurity? You can support The Rox Box <\/em>here<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n Get more content like this directly to your inbox. <\/em>Subscribe here.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With rising food costs and uncertain federal food-assistance benefits wreaking havoc on families nationwide, Alicia Wright has found relief in an unlikely place: her community college\u2019s food pantry. Wright, a student at Roxbury Community College, said her campus food pantry has been lifesaving, especially as she juggles classes while raising her 6-year-old daughter, Olivia. \u201cI<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[535,13461,1725,7643,16977,21725,678],"class_list":{"0":"post-40415","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education","8":"tag-college","9":"tag-combat","10":"tag-food","11":"tag-helps","12":"tag-insecurity","13":"tag-pantry","14":"tag-students"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}