Food insecurity is a nationwide problem for many populations but especially college students. This issue can be defined as the condition of not having access to sufficient food, or food of adequate quality, to meet one's basic needs. A study was conducted in 2018 that concluded that over 60% of students at Minnesota State University, Mankato face some level of food insecurity during their college experience. This level is higher than the national average on college campuses. Food insecurity is closely tied with housing insecurity, defined as the state of not having stable or adequate living arrangements, especially due to the risk of eviction or because one lives in unsafe or uncomfortable conditions.

Student Executive Leadership which is comprised of Reauna Stiff as Student Government President and Kara Svercl as the Student Government Vice President have both experienced these two problems during their undergraduate career and have heard countless stories of students with similar experiences. Because of this, Student Government is launching a campaign to address these issues in and around Mankato's campus. Student Government at MNSU strongly believes that students cannot be successful in crisis. If a student doesn’t have a secure place to rest their head every night-a place with good management that is responsive to maintenance requests and safety issues, their mind isn’t going to be stable enough to focus on getting an amazing grade on that upcoming test. If a student doesn’t know when they’ll eat again, where to go for resources, or they’re rationing their food so it can stretch through the week, they’re not going to be able to participate in our various student organizations or truly enjoy their college experience.

To address hunger and homelessness around our community, we have an ambitious but attainable goal of establishing a student basic needs hub in a centralized physical location around campus. This location would employ and utilize students in various programs such as the social work program, house resources that students can use on a more permanent basis, and allow students to find community in ONE place that can help them. Please support this cause to show leaders and decision-makers on our campus how important basic needs are to students at MNSU.