One in 10 Utah Valley University students has gone a full day without eating because they couldn’t afford food, and 11% risk losing their housing because they can’t afford to pay rent. It is because of these alarming statistics that UVU is rolling out a new initiative addressing students’ basic security needs, including food, health, housing, and safety.

The CARE Task Force, which launched in the spring, stands for Coordinating Access to Resources and Education. Alexis Palmer, dean of students and associate vice president of student life, says that the task force addresses UVU’s core theme of exceptional care. “Our goal is to create an experience where students feel exceptional care by all those working at UVU.”

The Fall 2018 UVU student opinion survey illustrated the need for this initiative. Of the 257 students who answered a question about food insecurity, 51% said that during that semester they were hungry, but didn’t eat because they couldn’t afford to pay for food. Additionally, of the 642 students who answered a question about housing insecurity, 9.8% said they were possibly at immediate risk of losing their housing due to unaffordability, and 1.3% said they were definitely at risk.

The task force is currently piloting a program to meet housing insecurity needs by awarding emergency scholarships in increments of $50 to $500. These funds can also be used for medical bills or food. 

Students also have access to a university food pantry, which is housed in SC 105, the Center for Social Impact. According to the survey (146 responses), 83% of students said they had never considered accessing the food pantry, and 80% said they had not heard of the food pantry. Additionally, food vouchers are available for students to use and can be found in the Center for Social Impact.

Students who are interested in applying for the emergency scholarships are encouraged to contact Alexis Palmer at palmeral@uvu.edu, and, for additional resources, visit uvu.edu/studentcare/.