As University of Oregon students packed up to go home and feast on the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, Food for Lane County, along with other local organizations, supplied meals and food boxes for surrounding community members in need of assistance.

“Hunger is more prevalent than people think and that is because people are really good at faking it,” said Karen Edmonds, programs and services director at Food for Lane County. “Thirty-nine percent of people living in Lane County are eligible for food boxes.”

Oregon has the highest rate of food insecurity in the country, and Lane County is contributing more to that rate each year, according to statistics gathered by Food for Lane County. In 2013, 138,000 individuals living in Lane County are eligible for food assistance, up from 124,000 last year.

According to Food for Lane County, this includes 30 percent of children with limited food resources and 80 percent of children in grades kindergarten through eighth who come to school hungry once a week.

“Hunger can look different for different families. Sometimes it’s not being able to have well-rounded meals. Sometimes it’s relying on school lunches to fill the gap or relying on family and friends,” Edmonds said. “If people want to help they can donate food and donate money. The food bank is fueled by donations. They can also donate their time and advocate for hunger. Volunteering is an amazing part of helping eliminating hunger.”

Following the advice, along with generous donations from Food for Lane County, the UO food pantry is just one of many organizations on campus helping to eliminate the struggle to buy food and helping to bridge the gap between eating healthy and a tight budget. With just under 90 students coming per week, the pantry provides meals every Thursday for anyone at the university.

“The assumption is that students’ budgets are tight,” said Doug Hale, director of UO Food Pantry. “Certainly people could be coming simply because they want free food, but there are also people that are clearly coming back because they are in need. Particularly the ones that will show up an hour early and wait in line.”

Both Food for Lane County and the food pantry strive to support those in need and express that needing help isn’t something to be ashamed of. UO undergraduate student Troy Phillips explained that whether represented  in a lack of access to food or an inability to access food that is nutritionally sustaining, hunger is something that he recognizes as a severe issue.

“Living on campus, people are not confronted with realities, and when they do move out into the city, I think it can prove overwhelming to be faced with this seemingly endemic problem,” Phillips said. “Students aren’t the face of hunger in the Eugene community, but in many cases they are a large portion of the population facing this issue. Hunger is a systemic problem that results in other social ills.”