Title: Working Together to Build Resilient Programming to Support Financially Vulnerable Students
Presenter(s):
Yu-Wei Wang (she/her)
Janet Bello (she/her)
Carl Wachowski (he/him)
Matheshwara Annamalai Senthilkumar (he/him)
Brian Watkins (he/him)
Room: Charles Carroll 2203K
Session Block(s): Session III
Time: 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Duration: 60 minutes
Program Abstract:
Against the backdrop of growing wealth gap, ongoing inflation, policy changes, and federal spending cuts, many financially vulnerable students are struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table. The presenters will share the 2025 campus survey findings about UMD students’ food insecurity and related coping strategies, as well as their impacts on student well-being, career development, resilience, academic success, and sense of belonging. Data about the Campus Pantry usage and services will be discussed, and updates about a newly established Thrive Center for Essential Needs will be provided.
Program Description:
According to the most recent Hunger Report (Capital Area Food Bank, 2025), the food insecurity levels of residents in our national capital region remained high. On average, 36% of the DC-Maryland-Virgina households surveyed within the previous year were considered “food insecure.” Similar to last year, respondents residing in the Prince George’s County reported the highest food insecurity rate (49%). Consistent with the survey findings, our Campus Pantry and local food banks have faced increasing demands for food assistance. In this presentation, Wang—Counseling Center Research Director and Principal Investigator for the UMD Food Access & Student Well-being Study—will present highlights of the 2025 survey findings related to our students’ unmet essential needs, how students have coped with hunger, and their impacts on students’ well-being, career development, resilience, academic success, and sense of belonging. Bello has recently joined the UMD Campus Pantry as the AmeriCorps VISTA Member in August of 2025. She will present on the UMD Campus Pantry's work, its usage trends, and how she is focused on expanding the pantry's reach through expanded volunteer opportunities and by creating new internal and external partnerships. Watkins—Assistant Dean and Director of the Thrive Center for Essential Needs—will provide a brief update on the status of the Thrive Center for Essential Needs and the physical space that will serve as a central hub connecting students to essential services that address basic needs, including food insecurity, housing insecurity, and financial instability. He will highlight the ways in which these efforts further a university ecosystem that promotes economic justice and address the needs that are essential to student well-being, success, and thriving. Together, we will present how we work together to provide services to support our financially vulnerable students and help them weather the financial storm, build resilience, and flourish at UMD.