In addition to interrupting the academic aspirations of Washington State Community College students, the COVID-19 freeze on human activity has left many of them without their usual means of support.

Kathy Temple-Miller, the college’s dean of student success, said Friday that helping supply students with the necessities of survival has been a high priority.

She said the college food pantry held a distribution Friday.

“Some of the students weren’t able to get there, and we delivered a lot to them,” Temple-Miller said as she drove some of the deliveries herself Friday afternoon. Those who work, she said, are just now missing what would usually be their payday.

“It’s a struggle for many of them. Some have children at home, and they’re teaching them while they’re trying to keep up with their own classes,” she said. “A lot have internet, but a lot don’t, and most have just one laptop per family.”

The college, she said, has been working with AT&T to try to provide neighborhood hotspots, and the college also has provided Chromebooks for some of the students.

“Academically, they are doing OK, but for most the struggle is financial. Some of them just didn’t have the gas to come and pick up their food,” she said.

Many of the students work part-time or full-time and have lost their jobs. This is the first time some of them have experienced poverty, she said, and it is traumatic.

“Some have never faced food insecurity before. We’ve had three applications for food in the past 24 hours. I tell them you don’t need to be someone in poverty, just someone who’s hungry,” she said. “The hardest part for us is that students are fearful of the social stigma of being someone in need. The faculty is on high alert for students who need to be referred to the student success center for help.”

She said the students are being urged to come for assistance.

“The hard thing is that the students who need it the most are the last to speak up. These are students who work hard with part-time and full-time jobs, but they don’t have a lot of savings, and they don’t understand the system, how to apply for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) or unemployment,” she said.

The college food pantry, luckily, got several boosts at the beginning of the year, said Temple-Miller. The Phi Theta Kappa Club, a group of honors students, held a food drive, the Criminal Justice Club students made a cash donation and the student veterans group also pitched in.

“Initially, we had a $2,000 grant from the Welfare League of Marietta, and then we had students giving to other students, too,” she said.

Brad Merritt, the faculty advisor for Phi Theta Kappa, said the club set out on a five-week food drive around the beginning of January.

“It was a service project, one of the hallmarks of Phi Theta Kappa. We split it between the Marietta Community Food Pantry and the college,” he said. “It’s servant leadership, giving back to the community. We had no idea what was going to happen (the COVID-19 pandemic) but I’m really glad we did it. Lots of students contributed, even if it was just a couple cans of Vienna sausages. My office was filled up with nonperishable food.”

Merritt, who teaches business and economics, said he’s proud of the students.

“They really took it to heart,” he said.

Stephanie Harlow teaches criminal justice courses and is the faculty advisor for the Criminal Justice Club, a group of about 15 students.

“Every year the club decides on activities to give back to the community,” she said. “In the fall we have a drive to help the elderly with personal supplies and work with Washington-Morgan Community Action to serve homebound people,” she said. “In December, one of the students mentioned having to use a food pantry once before, and we raised $500 to contribute to the college pantry. We made that decision in January.”

Students can apply for food assistance on the college’s website, and the college is also prepared to help with students’ financial needs. Last year, the WSCC Foundation provided more than $11,000 in emergency fund assistance, the college said in a news release, and is ready to support students both during and after the pandemic.

“We want to remove barriers that keep students from earning their degrees,” Vice President of Institutional Advancement Amanda Herb said in a statement. “If helping a student by putting gas in their car or paying a utility bill keeps them in school, that’s a way for every dollar to make a big impact in terms of supporting student success.”