BRIDGING THE GAP: The ‘Resilient Students Network’ helps college students make ends meet, whether it’s through housing, transportation, or access to food.
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The good cranberry.
>> Hey, Thanksgiving is complete.
>> My name is Briana Barage. I go by Bri.
Oh, my niece is gonna love this. I am a
low-inccome student. I work 30 hours a
week. I go to school full-time and I am
a resilient student. This is going to be
amazing. This is going to feed us for a
couple days.
>> So, Resilient Students Network was
founded in 2019. We started programming
in 2022. there was a significant basic
needs crisis among college students not
only in our region but really across the
United States.
We meet our mission through food access
programming,
housing assistance to help students
prevent eviction and other emergency
resources like transportation,
the cost of books, the cost of internet,
those types of things so that they can
continue their academic path and
ultimately improve their life outcomes.
So, we're here today at Montgomery
County Community College at the Bluebell
campus. We also serve the Pottstown
campus and the name of their pantry here
is Stock Up for Success.
It it helps the students in a variety of
ways. They're able to pick up the food
right here at their school with help
from Mana on Main Street.
>> Scan the QR code. What Resilient
Students Network does is helps with a
larger portion of food every other week
for select students that sign up for
this program. It's the season of soups.
>> Plus, we're able to deliver supplemental
food assistance as well from other
partner agencies like Blessings of Hope
uh and connections through Monco an
anti-hunger network.
>> Yeah, it's the only way I'm going to
have Thanksgiving this year is through
the pantry. Some of the challenges as a
student are food insecurity. Having the
Stock Up for Success pantry has been a
game changer. Getting vegetables and
fruit is like mindblowingly amazing. Um
cuz I wouldn't eat it otherwise.
>> Good. There's plenty of stuff in there.
>> I'd probably stop at the pantry on my
way up to the testing center.
>> 50% of our students, Montgomery County
Community College students, are basic
needs insecure. 33% of our students are
food insecure. That means they might not
have enough food to meet their
nutritional needs or they are not sure
that they're going to have enough food
in the next 30 days. You know, that's
why the wellness center exists. We're
trying to move the needle on those
numbers. So, we do a lot of triaging in
the wellness center applications for
basic needs resources in the community,
public benefits, things of that nature.
RSN is one of those resources that we
really rely on to to meet those gaps
that students face. You know, if you are
inspired by the idea of supporting, you
know, low-income students and creating
equity in a space that is often
difficult to find it, you can support
this program. You can support other
programs.
So, if you're interested in learning
more, check out our website at uh
resilientstudents.org.
>> So excited for graduation.
Absolutely.
