The Utah Valley University CARE Hub’s student food access program received the 2023 NASPA Region V Innovative Program Award, which is given to a college or university that has developed an outstanding program that has benefited students and enhanced campus life.
NASPA is an association of student affairs administrators in higher education and the association’s Region V consists of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.
UVU’s CARE Hub is dedicated to helping students connect to resources that will help them address food insecurity, mental health, safety, and housing issues. Student success begins with making sure that students have their basic needs met so that they can focus on their academics
In 2022, the CARE Hub pantry served more than 1,000 students and distributed more than 25,000 pounds of food — a 13% increase from the previous year. All food support is meant to help students stay in school and graduate.
“The U.S. Department of Education recently released a study that shows 23% of undergraduates and 12% of graduate students are experiencing food insecurity,” said Alexis Palmer, UVU’s associate vice president of Student Development & Well-being and dean of students. “That means more than 4 million students in the U.S. are food insecure. Anecdotally, we see about the same percentages with our students at UVU.”
The CARE Hub office is located in UVU’s Student Life & Wellness Center, room 101 on the Orem Campus. Food is distributed from the office and from a mobile pantry vehicle that delivers food to UVU’s other campuses. The pantry provides anything from a food voucher for a hot meal at a campus restaurant, or fresh, packaged and canned food.
As an additional convenience, students can also order food online and have it delivered for free, thanks to a partnership between UVU and DoorDash. The school also posts videos to help teach students about how to prepare healthy meals using pantry items.
UVU stocks the Care Hub with food through a partnership with the Community Action Services & Food Bank, the university’s GRIT Garden on the Orem Campus, and a fruit tree gleaning program — both are run by UVU volunteers.
See UVU Care Hub food access program for more information.
About Utah Valley University
At Utah Valley University, we believe everyone deserves the transforming benefits of high-quality education — and it needs to be affordable, accessible, and flexible. With opportunities to earn everything from certificates to master’s degrees, our students succeed by gaining real-world experience and developing career-ready skills. We continue to invite people to come as they are — and leave ready and prepared to make a difference in the world.
