COUNTY — As part of its continual efforts to combat food insecurity across the region, the Union County Board of County Commissioners voted last week to allocate $250,000 of itsAmerican Rescue Plan Funding to Union College to help the school provide extra resources for its students.
“Our students represent some of the neediest in our county, so this is going to go very far,” said the college’s vice president, Dr. Demond Hargrove.
The funds, Dr. Hargrove continued, will be used to supplement the college’s student food pantry and voucher program.
“We tend to forget that many of the students at Union College did have meal plans in their elementary, middle and high schools where they were provided with as many as three meals a day, and that need doesn’t necessarily change once they are in college,” Board Chair Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded said.
At the moment, Dr. Hargrove said, more than 60 percent of the college’s student population relies on federal Pell Grants to complete their education. Pell Grants are awarded to undergraduate students who display an exceptional financial need. Another 20 percent of the current student body, Dr. Hargrove said, are scholarship recipients.
“We are seeing that many of our community colleges are experiencing this type of financial insecurity,” Dr. Hargrove said. “This is a growing problem on our campuses, but we are definitely not the only ones.”
Garwood resident Bruce Paterson questioned the actual need for the program and asked the Commissioner Board to reconsider allocating the funds.
“Per the resolution, this money will only fund this program for six months. We supply food for them from elementary school through high school, and now we’re doing it at the college level. Are we going to be feeding these people for the rest of their lives? You act like this is free money to spend willy-nilly with no accountability,” Mr. Paterson said.
Commissioner Sergio Granados called Mr. Paterson’s comments “extremely disrespectful.”
“Yes, we are going to supply funding to help out individuals when they are in need,” Mr. Granados said. “For some of these students, this might be the only meal that they get in a day. Maybe you never had to go through something like that, but for many individuals in our county, including our college students, this is a reality.”
The next meeting of the Union County Board of County Commissioners will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27, in the County Administration building in Elizabeth.
