Food security

Cougar Food Pantry sign on the WSU Vancouver campus

Winter 2018

Food security at WSU

Food maps, resources at Washington State University, and how you can help people get enough food

Students and others around the state increasingly face difficulty getting enough nutritious food for themselves and their families (read more in “Hungry”). Below are food maps of the Palouse (detailing farmers markets, food banks, community gardens, and other resources), resources on WSU campuses, and ways you can help.

Food maps

The Taste of Home: Local Food in the Palouse-Clearwater Region (University of Idaho resource)

Map the Meal Gap (Feeding America)

Food Atlas for the Puget Sound Region

… » More …

Winter 2018

Hungry

At Rosario’s Place, food on the shelves comes and goes like a tide. When staff at the Women’s Center at Washington State University, which manages Rosario’s, puts out a call for donations, stock rises and then falls again as students take what they need to get by.

Rosario’s Place has a private entrance on the Pullman campus, and that simple fact, says Women’s Center director Amy Sharp, reduces stigma; no one asks who you are or what you are doing. You just come in, take what you need (or leave what you can). In addition to food, Rosario’s also stocks baby and toddler supplies … » More …

Fall 2018

Being best

A 9-year-old slave girl fanned her young mistress to keep the flies off her while she learned her lessons. Because she picked up enough education to be able to read and write a little, she ended up teaching other slaves and ex-slaves.

Her daughter became a schoolteacher, married to a Presbyterian minister in segregated Columbus, Ohio. The couple passed on the family mantras to their children: “You must get an education to get ahead” and “you must be a credit to our race.”

Their children, the second generation born free, took the advice to heart, attending college and becoming teachers and professionals. One of them, … » More …

Spring 2017

Reduce food waste at home

There are a variety of ways to reduce food waste at home, which can save you money, help the environment, and possibly feed people who need it.

Stop waste at the source

Assess food purchasing and preparation in your business or home to reduce the volume of food waste that is generated.

Make a list with meals in mind.
Buy only what you expect to use.
Keep fruits and vegetables fresh.
Prep perishables sooner rather than later.
Eat what needs eating first.
Treat expiration and sell-by dates as guidelines.
Save … » More …

Summer 2014

Hunger Immortal: The First Thirty Years of the West Seattle Food Bank, 1983–2013

Ronald F. Marshall ’71

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013

What is today the West Seattle Food Bank started as a shoestring operation in an abandoned public school building. A pair of retired grocers from South Dakota had taken on responsibility for distributing government commodities like cheese and peanut butter to needy community members.

Thirty years later, the food bank owns its own building, serves an average of 750 families a week, and … » More …

Spring 2014

Two alumni recognized for their contributions to food and agriculture

In recent months, the Washington State University Alumni Association honored United Nations Food Safety Officer Masami Takeuchi and Louisiana State University Professor Gail L. Cramer with WSU Alumni Achievement Awards.

A native of Japan, Masami Takeuchi earned her first bachelor’s degree in 1994 from Kwassui University in Nagasaki, Japan. At WSU, she completed a bachelor’s degree in 1999, a master of science degree in 2001, and a doctorate in 2004, all in human nutrition.

Based in Rome, Takeuchi is one of a small group of food safety and quality officers working for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division.

From … » More …