A campus survey from 2021 reported that 63% of Bucknell University students are concerned about whether or not they will have access to all the meals they need on a given day. This incidence of concern surrounding food insecurity proves especially true for already disadvantaged students, “such as first-generation students, Pell-eligible students, African-American students, Hispanic students and students with financial need,” according to surveying completed by the Bucknell Food and Nutrition Task Force.

Within the local Lewisburg community, programs like Community Harvest—led by Bucknell’s Center for Community Engaged Leadership, Learning & Research (CCELLR)—work to produce and distribute around 175 meals once a week for families and individuals struggling with food insecurity. The program depends heavily on the involvement of volunteers, including Bucknell students, who work to invest their passion for serving the community in an immediately rewarding program. 

The Empty Bowls fundraiser is an annual event with the clear aim of raising both awareness of and money for food insecurity among Bucknell students and the surrounding community. Every year at Empty Bowls, Bucknell’s CCELLR welcomes students, faculty and interested residents of the Lewisburg area to their event space, where, for a small ticket price, all attendees can enjoy a selection of soup and take a handmade bowl chosen by the attendee. Attendees can also bid on donated and curated auction items, which include everything from gift cards to pottery to snack baskets. The combination of revenue from tickets, auction items and charitable donations amounts to “enough,” in the words of Sarah Farbo—Bucknell’s Associate Director of Community Engaged Leadership, Learning & Research—to help keep food insecurity programs running for another season. But as grocery prices continue to climb, programs like Community Harvest have only become more vital. Finding ways to draw crowds to fundraising events like Empty Bowls has been an ongoing concern for Farbo, who has noted a difficulty in pursuing the most effective means of advertising Empty Bowls to the Bucknell population at large. For an issue affecting over half of Bucknell’s campus, student turnout at the event last week was smaller than Farbo would have liked to see. 

Statistics from the Journal of Sustainable Agriculture report that global farmers produce sufficient food stock to feed 10 billion people—1.5 times the current world population. Food insecurity, thus, arises not from resource scarcity but from improper or mismanaged distribution. Initiatives like Community Harvest seek to remedy a portion of that problem, even if only for a localized population. Through Bucknell’s CCELLR, students who feel inspired by this cause or are otherwise seeking to help within the local community can sign up to volunteer with an organized service project. On the website Engaged Bucknell, students can find a plethora of opportunities to contribute their time and energy to building a better Lewisburg and supporting students from all walks of life who need a helping hand when it comes to food resources.