Students learned healthy dieting and budgeting tips at a workshop hosted by the Senate of College Councils on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The workshop included UT Outpost information about ways to get affordable food on and around campus, and a presentation from nutrition students on how to get the most filling and healthy food on a budget.<\/p>\n
UT Outpost was first created in 2016 when 43.7% of students at UT said in a survey they experienced some level of food insecurity during their time in college, said economics senior Caroline Wheir, outreach coordinator for UT Outpost. Outpost now has multiple free food pantries around campus, where students can get up to 20 pounds of food each month at no cost, and career closets, where students can get up to two free business professional outfits per semester.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmergencies and financial hardships are definitely a part of being in college and being on your own for the first time,\u201d Wheir said. \u201cWe\u2019re here to offer some help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wheir outlined the locations<\/a> and operating hours<\/a> for the Outpost, career closet and their satellites. She also discussed other ways for students to access free or affordable food in Austin, including through SNAP benefits, food banks and food donation websites like UT Austin Free Food Channel<\/a> and ATX Food Hub<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI know there is a huge stigma around using a food pantry, using a food bank, using a career closet,\u201d Wheir said. \u201cOur hope is to ultimately minimize that stigma by having presentations like this.\u201d<\/p>\n Two dietitian student assistants, Julia Hendrix and Lara Collard, shared tips for students navigating dining halls and for cooking nutritious meals. Collard, a nutrition sophomore, said students should strive to cook meals that are made up of half fruit or vegetables, one quarter protein and one quarter carbohydrates. She also said eating a variety of vegetables can help with getting different vitamins and micronutrients.<\/p>\n