After reading Madison College’s Student Hunger article from 2017, two UW-Madison students became inspired to start making a change within their community. They created a plan, and applied for the Wisconsin Idea Fellowship where they were proudly awarded $,7000.

The Fellowship is awarded annually, and is open to undergraduate students that are working to solve a local or global issue.

The two sophomores, Susan Maloney, and Abigail Sann, saw this as an opportunity for them to become more active in a social issue that they are passionate about.

They contacted and set up meetings with Student Senate President Tina Marshalek and Madison College Senior Vice President Keith Cornille to see what resources Madison College already has and potential connections within the community they could utilize.

Maloney and Sann’s proposal focused on a yearlong term, with the goal to promote a sustainable option to continue the focus on student hunger at Madison College well after their term is over.

The two-semester plan to attack student hunger will hopefully begin in August of 2018, but Maloney and Sann have already taken the initiative to start working with Madison College on this issue. They have been coordinating a student hunger survey, attending Student Senate meetings, and asking for feedback on their long-term plan.

During the first semester, the plan is to post information around campus, and host events that focus on what resources students can utilize, as well as bringing organizations like Second Harvest to the college.

“The goal of the project is to foster discussions about food insecurity and gain more insight on the student experience in order to figure out ways Madison College can better serve all students moving forward,” said Sann.

During the second semester, the focus will be more on implementing a specific action item. Although the impact team is still looking into what items will be most effective for attacking student hunger, ideas such as creating a community garden, or an accessible food pantry on campus will be in consideration.

After the impact team finalizes their recommendation, Maloney and Sann will use that information to more clearly define their path of the where the grant money will go during the second semester.

Although it is a two-semester project, the long-term goal, will definitely not just be a year. Student Senate President, Tina Marshalek, reflected on the UW student’s ambition and urge to help Madison College and said, “Maloney and Sann were pretty clear when they met with Student Senate, that what they want to do is put together a sustainable system that will continue past them working with Madison College.”

“We were so excited to begin working with a community that is already motivated and interested in addressing food insecurity, and so far our collaboration has been wonderful,” said Maloney.

The Fellowship is made possible through the support of the Michael Thornton and Nora Medina Fund, and the Morgridge Center.