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WVU food bank serves students who would otherwise skip meals

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — While in college, it’s not uncommon for students to skip meals to pay for other expenses like tuition and textbooks, according to Jaqueline Dooley, program coordinator in the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership.

As a consequence, Dooley said grades often suffer.

 “The associated stigma (is) that if you can afford college, you should be able to buy food, and that’s just not the case,” Dooley said.

The Rack, West Virginia University’s student food bank, has provided students in need with food supplies since 2010. In the month of September alone, The Rack served 511 students on campus.

Dooley said the program began when former Vice President of Student Affairs, Ken Gray, read a National Public Radio article indicating a large percentage of college students were choosing hunger in order to pay for other costs of higher education.

College students facing hunger often come from high schools that offered subsidized meal programs or had younger siblings hungry at home…

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