Due to recent cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), BW’s Brain Center has taken it upon itself to offer a wide variety of programs to help stop food waste and help the community/students who may be suffering the impacts due to the cuts.
Director of the Brain Center, Marsita Ferguson, spoke about some of the programs the Student Resource Center provides. Ferguson said, “Our Student Resource Center here provides a multitude of resources and referrals for students on campus for emergency needs, any type of barrier to graduation in the form of basic needs.”
Some of the programs that are offered to help combat food insecurity are Campus Plate, Swipe Out Hunger, Pop Up Pantries, Emergency Grant Fund (no longer housed in the Brain Center), Campus Cupboard, and the Free Store with the Leave it Behind program, where there may be pots and pans, mattresses, microwaves, etc.
Ferguson spoke specifically about Campus Plate, one of the eight programs offered to students and faculty. She said, “We have seven refrigerators located throughout this campus, if you download the app you can see what’s in the refrigerators and not just the refrigerators […] We also have these big baskets on top of the refrigerators as well so you can look in there and there will be ramen noodles, cups of noodles, cups of oatmeals, fruits, vegetables, and then sandwiches and salads and anything you can think of that we can put in the refrigerators for students.”
Ferguson spoke about the impact working for the Brain Center has had on her.“You know, helping people who feel like they’re the voiceless find the voice, helping people who need food and resources get resources. That’s the core of who I am, and that’s because people who have needed help understand and appreciate it in a way that they value it, and you go back out and you give. And it’s not just the Pop-up pantry or the Student Resource Center, it’s everything that is the Brain Center, said Ferguson. “Every single thing that we do is about how we can help others, and not only that, but I get to show students how helping others can be a transferable skill set. I get to teach you real-world skills that make you uniquely qualified for jobs, and you get to learn them while helping someone else who’s already struggling. We are destigmatizing need. Need is everywhere.”
Student Director of the Student Resource Center, Berta Gashi, echoed this statement. Gashi said, “Doesn’t matter what our name tag says, we are all equal, including her [Fergunson]. When we are talking and all that, we are all learning and growing together. And like the leadership skills that I’ve learned here, how to talk to people and all that. If I could tell every student on campus you should join the Brain Center, I would put them all here.”
If you are interested in becoming part of the Brain Center or are in need of resources, you can follow them at @bwbraincenter or contact Marista Ferguson at [email protected].
