Item 5: Draft Food Access Recommendation — original pdf

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COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION College Student Commission Recommendation Number: (2025MMDD-XXX) (XXX is the agenda item number): Renewing College Food Insecurity Grant Program WHEREAS, The College Student Commission passed Recommendation 20210122-3b: College Food Insecurity Grant Program in January 2021; and WHEREAS, The College Student Commission passed Recommendation 20230324-10: Continuing College Food Insecurity Grant Program in March 2023; and WHEREAS, there are over 100,000 college students in the City of Austin, living across all 10 council districts, including students at Austin Community College, Concordia University, Huston-Tillotson University, St. Edwards University, and the University of Texas at Austin; and WHEREAS, the College Food Access Grant Program is designed to allow applicants to address food access in the manner that will best support their campuses through mini-grants; and WHEREAS, learning from student experiences is crucial to addressing food insecurity, and the program model is designed to facilitate student input in grant proposals; and WHEREAS, the College Food Access Grant Program was allocated $50,000 in direct support and $7,500 to support administration as part of the City of Austin's FY 2021-2022 Budget; and WHEREAS, the College Food Access Grant Program was allocated $100,000 in direct support and $7,500 to support administration as part of the City of Austin's FY 2023-2024 Budget; and WHEREAS, the Central Texas Food bank administered the College Food Access Grant program during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic years, providing funding to 4 colleges; and WHEREAS, food insecurity continues to affect Austin-area college campuses with rising costs of food, housing, and other resources; and WHEREAS, throughout the previous periods, colleges experienced higher than expected use of food pantries funded by this program; and WHEREAS, this program was not renewed in the FY 2024-2025 budget, leaving food pantries on some campuses struggling to maintain an adequate supply of food; and WHEREAS, creating a more equitable and affordable city is an ongoing process, and current students are in need of immediate relief; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the College Student Commission recommends Austin City Council allocate $107,500 in ongoing funding for the College Food Access Grant Program for the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget. Date of Approval: _____________________________ Record of the vote: Attest: _____________________________________________