Everyone knows that college is expensive, but it become even more difficult when a student has to choose between gas, food or books. 
Just on LSU’s campus alone, there are about 4,000 students who are hungry or food insecure. Many of these students rely on food stamps as their sole way of obtaining food. However, the possibility of a government shutdown in October brought with it a fear that government funded programs like food stamps would be cut off. 
“If I did not have EBT, then I would probably starve each month, and I’m not saying that just for dramatic effect,” said LSU Theater Performance Freshman Hendrick Deshotel. 
Deshotel, like many students, has a job. He works at Olive Garden and makes five dollars an hour just to pay rent, but he is not the only student who struggles to make ends meet.
“It’s not just college students either,” said Deshotel. “It’s families…There are people working 9-to-5 jobs and still aren’t making enough to support their kids.”
This is why Assistant Dean of Students & Associate Director of Student Advocacy and Accountability Jennie Stewart created the LSU Pantry.
“The LSU Food Pantry is open to any student, whether part-time or full-time who expresses any need,” explained Stewart. “A student would need only to come in and present his or her tiger card, we verify that that person is indeed a student for the current semester, and then the student is able to come and go shopping in our pantry.”
Stewart’s dream was to create this service to help students at LSU, and this is already the Pantry’s third year.
“Any of the pieces that students rely on to help support them not being eligible can really make a huge difference,” said Stewart. “We already have students who are making choices between gas, food and books.”
Students are grateful for programs like the LSU Pantry, but it needs more help from the student body to fulfill the growing use of it. 
Although the House of Representatives passed a spending bill yesterday that would avert a shutdown, the fact that programs like food stamps lack consistent stability creates concerns for Americans who need them.