A student launched a digital map on March 29 that shows food resources around the University and the city, aiming to combat local food insecurity.
The map, called ATX Food Hub, provides a list of nearby grocery and convenience stores students can visit, such as H-E-B and Trader Joe’s. It also shows various community kitchens and gardens in the city that offer free hot meals and fresh produce, along with information on University-sponsored resources, such as the UT Outpost, which oversees several food pantries across campus.
Public health freshman Siva Epuri, who created the map, said she started working on it at the beginning of the year as part of a food systems class project. She decided to create the map after talking to various organizations and realizing some people were not aware of local food opportunities.
“All the information regarding these food resources (is) scattered everywhere on the internet,” Epuri said. “It just takes so much time to try to figure out how exactly you can maximize the use of your time. We created the centralized hub to really help with that issue.”
According to Central Texas Food Bank data, one in six residents was food insecure last year.
Tracy Ayrhart, vice president of research and strategic partnerships for the Central Texas Food Bank, said high grocery prices and inaccessibility to retail stores may cause food insecurity. However, the phenomenon varies between people depending on their respective situations.
“There are those who have generational, chronic food insecurity, but we’re also seeing the folks that are maybe experiencing a temporary setback, have lost a job or can’t find a job right out of college,” Ayrhart said. “That’s putting them in a situation where they need food pantries and food bank services.”
Dat Duong, co-director of the West Campus Collective, a student organization that works to address food insecurity in the area, said another barrier to food access is transportation. Grocery stores are far from West Campus, which can contribute to students becoming food insecure, he said.
“If you have the luxury of having a personal car, then you can go to the H-E-B on Hancock, which is maybe an eight-minute drive (from West Campus), and you can transport yourself back to the house,” Duong said. “For students who do not have forms of transportation, that becomes an issue.”
To provide a solution to the transportation barrier, Epuri said she included pick-up stops for the UT Parking and Transportation Services Shop Shuttle on the map. This program takes students to and from the local H-E-B, according to the PTS website.
Epuri said if someone wishes to add an additional resource to the map, they can fill out a form, and the information will be fact-checked before it is officially added. She wants the map to save people time when finding resources, she said.
“I hope that everyone’s able to know about the map, whether they’re food insecure or not,” Epuri said. “You can’t get rid of food insecurity, but you can help alleviate it by making sure that people know of the resources around them.”
发表回复