Sridhar, a fourth-year student at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, received the 2020 Excellence in Public Health Award for her efforts to combat food insecurity in college students at the local and national level.
Presented by the United States Public Health Service (USPHS), the awards program recognizes medical students across the United States who advance public health and those who exemplify the USPHS’s mission to protect, promote and advance the health and safety of the nation.
“College students are typically not viewed to be an underserved group, but many students experience financial hardship while pursuing higher education,” Sridhar said. “I stumbled upon food insecurity (hunger) as an undergraduate student and learned that it plagues college campuses worldwide.”
Full-time students do not qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, regardless of their income. According to Sridhar, financial struggles can lead to maladaptive behaviors that affect students’ physical and mental health in the short term and can have long-term consequences after they graduate or drop out.
“Campus food pantries and other programs designed to aid students experiencing financial struggles are likely to have similar effects to SNAP since these programs provide comparable resources,” she said.
As an undergraduate student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Sridhar founded Donor to Diner in 2013. What started as a student organization that Sridhar operated out of her dorm room, Donor to Diner ultimately became a national nonprofit that aids and advocates for hungry college students through local chapters.
“Donor to Diner’s chapters fill the gap with advocacy initiatives and on-campus resources tailored to fit the needs of the student population they serve,” she explained.
Sridhar started medical school at USA in 2016. That same year, a survey by USA’s Student Government Association revealed that 57 percent of USA students had experienced food insecurity at some point during their college careers. To aid these students, Sridhar and USA’s chapter of Donor to Diner established the student-led campus food pantry, JagPantry.
“Most students do not have access to traditional kitchens; some do not have access to any kitchen appliances at all, which significantly limits their meal options,” she said. “Since non-perishable, ready-to-eat food items can be heavily processed and nutrient-poor, I worked with pediatric gastroenterologist Dr. Daniel Preud'Homme to offer options that provided sufficient nutrients while still being practical.”
Last year Sridhar collaborated with the USA Student Health Center to better identify students experiencing hunger through a short survey administered during the intake process. A large number of JagPantry’s patrons are now referrals from student health, Sridhar said.
Due to the program’s success, Sridhar was invited to speak at a University of South Alabama board of trustees meeting. “This talk resulted in greater awareness of collegiate hunger and increased support for our program,” she said. “Several trustees donated meal scholarships after learning about food insecurity on campus.”
Soon after this opportunity, Sridhar and other student volunteers were able to move the JagPantry to a larger space to better accommodate larger donations which allows them to provide a larger variety of goods. They have partnered with the Student Government Association and the Freshman Council to provide feminine hygiene products in addition to food. Since the expansion, they are working on providing personal care items and any other products their patrons request, Sridhar said.
When Sridhar founded Donor to Diner in 2013, she was one of only a few people – and the first student – to develop resources to help college students experiencing food insecurity in the United States. Now, she is a national authority on combating collegiate hunger. She has organized and presented a workshop at national conference, #RealCollege: A National Convening on Food and Housing Insecurity.
Learn more about JagPantry and USA’s Chapter of Donor to Diner.
