Last fall, Student Government Association received survey results from 100 students and found that almost 50 percent of those students had to choose between buying food and buying other items. Additionally, it found that more than 30 percent have had to skip a meal because they could not afford to eat.

Starting this week SGA will now allow students to fill out an order form to pick up pre-made food items at a newly established food pantry located at the Heskett Center’s equipment distribution location.

The plans to create a food pantry on campus, with help from the Heskett Center as a distribution site, allows those who have to skip meals and suffer food insecurity, the means to adequate and suitable nutrition.

It is the opinion of The Sunflower that a food pantry is wanted and needed in order for students facing financial difficulties to meet basic nutritional needs. No student should be without food due to a financial hardship. The sad reality is average, high-achieving and involved students suffer from the dire circumstance. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean those students should endure the stigma.

It should also be commended that SGA intends to curtail the embarrassment or insecurity associated with partaking in the food pantry. SGA will allow students to provide only their ID numbers to sign up for a bag and remain anonymous while volunteers compile food.

The Sunflower applauds SGA’s initiative, creating a non-discriminate atmosphere where students can acquire suitable food; where no student will go to bed on an empty stomach.