The 2025 Summer Food Insecurity Programming Assessment, released this Nov., evaluates the pilot programs launched to alleviate summer hunger among students.
When the dining halls close for the summer, many Carleton students living on campus face a crisis: finding their next meal.
Food insecurity has always been a challenge for Carleton students working or researching on campus during summer break. Sonja Anderson, associate professor of religion at Carleton, witnessed students struggling with income and food over the summer
“They were eating a meal a day because their paychecks wouldn’t arrive for a few weeks,” she said.
In the past, Carleton has not provided programs to alleviate food insecurity.
Anderson, who has personally driven students to grocery stores, expressed frustration with administrative delays: “I have no patience for bureaucratic sloth …If a student tells me they’re poor and hungry, that’s all I need to know. We’re going to the grocery store immediately.”
In 2025, growing concerns prompted actions from the administration and the Carleton Student Association (CSA). With the help of $40,000 in funding from the CSA, a pilot program has been enacted over the past summer.
The CSA funding sponsored a variety of measures aimed at alleviating food insecurity. According to the website for the Office of the Chaplain, these measures included “regular community meals organized by the Chaplain’s Office, a grab-and-go food source in the Chapel that provided free, nonperishable, supplemental food items; enhanced transportation options around Northfield; additional mini fridges and cooking kits for student use” and “cooking lessons offered by Bon Appétit.”
On Nov. 2, Chapel-sponsored social justice group Interfaith Social Action (IFSA), the Office of the Chaplain and the Division of Inclusion, Equity, and Community (IEC) published a report entitled “Carls Feed Carls: Fighting Summer Food Insecurity at Carleton.” The report used student survey responses to assess the quality of food insecurity programs implemented over the summer of 2025.
The report found 79% of students reported varying levels of food insecurity at some point during the summer, confirming the persisting and growing food insecurity issue at Carleton.
It also emphasizes the pilot programs’ positive impact on food accessibility. “Many students expressed their enthusiastic appreciation — with all-caps, exclamation points, repetition, or all three, ” the assessment said.
College President Alison Byerly highlighted the reassuring aspect of the report. “[The report] highlights the program’s success in providing food options for students and building community during the summer months, particularly through the popular community meals,” said Byerly.
Community meals, the program that stood out as the most successful, were provided by the Office of Chaplain.
According to College Chaplain Schuyler Vogel, “three meals were served a week, with attendance ranging from 30 to 90 students per meal.”
According to Vogel, the community meal received support from across Carleton, including Alumni Relations Office, Dacie Moses, Quantitative Resource Center, Residential Life, the Carleton Farm, the Dean of Students Office and the IEC Division, alongside a diverse group of individual faculty and staff. The support demonstrates the collective effort from a range of organizations and individuals towards alleviating food insecurity,
In addition to alleviating the struggle for food supply, the program played a positive role in community-building for summer residents. “Not only did Community Meals provide nutritious meals for students who may not have eaten otherwise, this program also brought together students from across campus in a meaningful way,” says the 2025 Summer Food Programming Assessment.
Notably, Byerly mentioned the need to expand transportation options as well as improving communication.
Lack of clear communication emerged as a top complaint across programs. According to the assessment, multiple students simply were unaware of certain programs. Being informed of such issues, Byerly outlines potential future solutions.
“As a next step,” Byerly said, “we plan to organize some focus groups to talk further about ways to address specific needs[…..] include resources on budgeting and cooking skills. The Dean of Students Office will create a website for summer residents and plan additional communications to students in advance of next summer”.
Other concerns not yet acknowledged by the administration or the assessment also surfaced.
The lack of personnel in charge of the programs leaves the program vulnerable to uncertainties. Vogel cautioned that relying on a single intern made the program “vulnerable should that person get sick or take time away.”
Despite expressing delight towards the CSA-funded summer meals, Anderson believes that this budget was not utilized properly.
Anderson highlights the community meal and the Grab & Go’s tendency towards purchasing overpriced food to satisfy the number of portions.
She noted that “[t]he student worker couldn’t buy the best priced items because only individual portions were allowed.” She added that this rule forced the food source’s staff to buy “tiny little cups of soup that were three times the price” instead of affordable bulk options.
Anderson suggests the program administrators need more expertise on how to run their food source service more effectively, especially regarding food storage regulations. “The rule that food couldn’t be stored in the Multicultural Center meant I had to help lug groceries back and forth from the Chapel,” she said.“If you’ve worked at a food shelf or cooked in a commercial kitchen, you know how ridiculous these rules were.”
Anderson further suggests that Carleton should collaborate with potential partners who have more experience on the matter. “This coming summer, the College should take the Community Action Center (CAC) up on its offer to collaborate, ” Anderson notes. “The CAC knows what it’s doing, and if it says it can share its expertise and buying power with us, we should humbly accept.”