(Photo courtesy of State Representative Tara Hong) “MassPIRG students at Hunger Advocacy event”
Benjamin Heffner
Connector Editor
Students representing campus chapters of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MassPIRG) gathered at the State House on Mar. 12th to lobby for S.R. 2535 and H.R. 4408, also known as the MA Hunger Free Campus Initiative Act.
The bill, introduced by State Representatives Andy Vargas (D) of the 3rd Essex District and Mindy Domb (D) of the 3rd Hampshire District, and State Senator Joan Lovely (D) of the 2nd Essex District, would provide grants to colleges and universities across Massachusetts to address student food insecurity and hunger.
In addition, a press release from MassPIRG Students added that it would “enroll eligible students in federal nutrition benefits, support partnerships with food pantries, and raise public awareness of food insecurity through anti-stigma campaigns.”
Both bills currently sit in front of the Senate and House Ways & Means committees, respectively. In FY23, $3.7 million was budgeted to solving hunger in higher institutions. By FY26, it went down to $500,000, a 152% decrease. MassPIRG has sought $3 million for FY27.
The initiative has already been put into place in areas including UMass Boston and North Shore and Roxbury Community Colleges, with all three institutions seeing noticeable results.
Among those leading the push for UMass Lowell have been Kayla Kittredge and Vice Chair Luke Van Horn.
Kittredge, a junior double sociology and criminal justice major who previously helped lead the MassPIRG student chapter at Middlesex Community College (MCC), said that free community college education became her ticket to success.
She said, “My mother passed away a few years ago and soon after, I adopted my two youngest siblings. It had been a struggle until I came to MCC and that’s when I knew I found my community.”
Kittredge also added that as one of the wealthiest states in the country, state lawmakers should be dedicating resources to solving student hunger, saying “There should be no reason that 40% of students are out or below the poverty line while trying to better their lives.”
Van Horn, a junior Criminal Justice major with an Economics minor, has been no stranger to MassPIRG, having testified and helped lead several initiatives for UMass Lowell over the years, and says that advocacy has a significant impact on students.
He added, “I have heard repeatedly from senators and representatives whom I have talked to that young voices are incredibly important and that is where the change is made.”
The Massachusetts Hunger-Free Campus Coalition was formed in 2019 as a means of addressing food insecurity in colleges and universities across Massachusetts, led by the Greater Boston Food Bank, Mass Law Reform Institute, and the Food Bank of Western MA.
Its mission has been to advocate for high-need student populations with the help of student voices.
Hunger advocacy is one of the two initiatives pushed by MassPIRG this year, alongside protecting bees and other pollinators from deadly pesticides. MassPIRG also previously lobbied for hunger advocacy last fall.
MassPIRG Students’ next advocacy event will be on March 31 at the State House in favor of ocean regulations.
