Many university students and staff members across the country face food insecurity at their institutions and the University of Massachusetts Amherst is similarly impacted. With the rise of prices for university tuition, housing on & off campus, and meal plans, food insecurity becomes an increasingly prevalent issue that negatively impacts the well-being and successful performance of UMass Amherst community members. This project evaluates the effectiveness of institutional food security policies at UMass Amherst and examines how mutual aid initiatives supplement these resources.

My project dives into this issue by contextualizing and critically analyzing the current policies and resources that UMass Amherst upholds to support their campus community. My analysis reveals mutual aid as a beneficial and necessary framework to supporting UMass Amherst community members because of inherent limitations with institutional resources. My time spent working with The UMass Amherst Food Recovery Network is highlighted as a prime example of the power of mutual aid to support communities. Data collection for this project includes analysis of campus food insecurity policies, anecdotal evidence from university members, and a qualitative review of Food Recovery Network distribution metrics. The general conclusion of this research is that mutual aid organizations empower communities to meet their own needs, and that this is a critical role in the on-going efforts for UMass Amherst food insecurity prevention.