Future funding for The Food Resource Center (FRC) has been a hot topic recently as Hamline Undergraduate Student Congress (HUSC) undergoes budget adjustments.
On April 16, HUSC passed a resolution to fund the FRC through an $80 addition to the student fee that all undergraduate students pay. This decision came a week after next year’s proposed HUSC budget included a $5,000 decrease in money for the FRC, which led to mixed feelings amongst stakeholders across campus.
One benefit of providing the FRC with this funding is that they will see an increase from approximately $27,000 to around $120,000. Within this new budget, HUSC has deemed that around $60,000 will cover the salary of full time basic-needs coordinator and manager of the center. FRC student lead and senior, Taylor Lander, expressed the impact that such an increase would have.
“I think [the $80 student fee] is going to be huge. Being able to have some sort of constant funding is always amazing. We have been seeing some issues keeping full and keeping stock just because we have such a high need, both with community members and students,” Lander said.
Another benefit of getting money from a student fee rather than a grant is that the money can be used for a wide range of items whereas grant money is relatively strictly for food purchases.
“Right now, with our grant money, we’re only supposed to purchase food. We can purchase a product or two here and there, but it’s mainly for food,” the part-time FRC Coordinator Sadie Berlin said. “Hopefully having more money would allow us to provide more products like household items, and hopefully be able to get student requests for certain items.” Berlin, now an alumna, started at the FRC as a volunteer and at the beginning of the 2024 Spring semester accepted her part-time coordinator position. Berlin expressed concerns that just one full-time manager of the FRC will not be enough to properly run the center based on her observation of the job responsibilities.
“Even 20 hours a week is not enough for the amount of things that have to get done here. […] Doing all of this and then also adding on SNAP work and emergency grant funds and all of those other things is just a big job in itself. I think that that’s going to require more capacity,” Berlin said.
Berlin also raised the issue that this has not been a smooth process for many students and a lot of confusion has been stirring.
“I wish there was more clear communication, a lot of students are concerned […] One of my staff told me that someone came in here earlier and asked if they have to pay for items now,” Berlin said. “I think that there are things that need to be cleared up and more clear communication needs to happen.”
Within the miscommunication there is also a fear that this $80 student fee won’t make it through the university’s approval and the FRC will face a challenge supplying students and community members with food.
“The only concern I would have is [the student fee] not happening,” Lander said “I would hope that Hamline sees the importance of the FRC for not only just the students, but for the whole Midway community.”
An FRC student worker and leader of Feed Your Brain (FYB), Kaitlynn Fuller, expressed that one of the benefits of the center is that it can be used as much as it is needed.
“[The FRC] is a really great unrestricted food shelf because food shelves can be a lot more restricted than people think sometimes,” Fuller said.
Lander also emphasized that there is no required proof of needing these resources to go to the FRC, everyone is welcome to have what they want.
“Anybody can come, it is an open resource, you don’t need to express need. We have really cool stuff that comes in, so even if you’re not looking for groceries per se, but just something fun to take home to try, it’s free,” Lander said.
To learn more about the FRC and see what it all holds, visit West Hall 110.