Lisa Pitz, of the Center for Food Action Pantry at Bergen Community College, discussed the challenges many students face.
PARAMUS, N.J. – One in five community college students has struggled with hunger, according to a survey of 4,300 students conducted by the Association of Community College Trustees and nonprofit Single Stop. Bergen Community College, the Center for Food Action and Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty, Ridgewood took steps this month to further combat this issue in Bergen County.
As part of Sotheby’s annual food drive challenge, sales associates from the Ridgewood regional office collected donations to purchase $500 in grocery store gift cards for the Center for Food Action Pantry at Bergen Community College, located at the institution’s main campus, 400 Paramus Road.
The Center for Food Action pantry at Bergen opened in June 2014 to assist students, faculty and staff fighting hunger.
Fighting hunger remains a priority for the College. President B. Kaye Walter, Ph.D., represented the only community college president – among 55 colleges in total – to sign the “Presidents’ Commitment to Food and Nutrition Security” pledge initiated by Auburn University and “PUSH” (Presidents United to Solve Hunger) last year.
For more information on the pantry, email [email protected].
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls 15,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
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