Matt Sciamanna remembers the day he got the call well. He was 20 and a sophomore in college at San Jose State University studying nutrition science. His mom phoned to let him know that she loved him and was hoping he might be able to assist more with his living expenses. Matt immediately got a job and for the next year and a half, he worked 38 hours a week while going to school full-time and volunteering. But when his health started to decline and his grueling schedule became too much, he had to switch to a less intensive job that paid far less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His reduced income didn\u2019t stretch to afford enough food. He was food insecure: skipping meals, relying on a limited diet, napping when he was hungry. Not wanting to add to the stress of his parents\u2019 situation, Matt did his best to hide the truth and always told his mom he was doing ok. But it was hard \u2013 \u201cno one wants to lie to their mom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When budgets are tight, food is often the first thing to be cut. “What ends up happening is, you have to decide: ‘Well, I have this part-time job and I need gas to go to my part-time job; do I go to the grocery store and buy $40 worth of groceries, or do I pay $40 and put gas in my car?'”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Matt was working as a lead for the SJSU Peer Health Education team and the Student Hunger Committee when he realized he was struggling with food himself and could benefit from the assistance he was educating other students about. \u201cI realized, \u2018this is me.\u2019 It was a learning moment for me \u2013 it kind of humbled me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And for many college students, the struggle of food insecurity goes beyond food. Matt says, \u201cwhen you go to college, you feel like you\u2019re stepping into a different league. You\u2019re training to become the next generation of leaders. You\u2019re in training to become a professional. While you\u2019re going through college, you feel like you should be moving in that direction. But when you\u2019re food insecure, you have this image in your head of where you should be, but you feel like you\u2019re not there. It\u2019s like there\u2019s two pathways and you can\u2019t quite get them to connect. You feel like you\u2019re letting your family down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n