Project Bread Honors Pam Eddinger for Social Justice Work

EAST BOSTON, Mass. – The leading anti-hunger organization in Massachusetts, Project Bread, honors Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) President Pam Eddinger, Ph. D, as the inaugural recipient of the Patrick Hughes Award for Social Justice. Dr. Eddinger is being recognized for her leadership in addressing food insecurity which impacts 56% of students enrolled at BHCC.

As President of BHCC, the largest community college in Massachusetts, serving 19,000 students annually, Eddinger has worked diligently to ensure all students have equal access to high-quality and affordable educational, leadership and employment opportunities as well as support meeting their most basic human needs, including food and housing.

Under Dr. Eddinger’s administration, BHCC has pursued multiple solutions to campus hunger to meet the immediate need and to promote anti-hunger solutions on campus in the future. The opening of the DISH (Delivering Information, Sustenance, and Health) food pantry in September with continuing efforts by BHCC’s Single Stop office connects students to local food resources, including Project Bread’s statewide FoodSource Hotline, federal nutrition programs such as SNAP (food stamps), and a weekly mobile market. Accompanying the award is a $10,000 gift from Project Bread, which Eddinger has designated to support BHCC’s Single Stop.

BHCC is the largest community college in Massachusetts and has a highly racially and ethnically diverse student body; more than half are women and 60% of the student body are people of color. The majority of BHCC students receive financial aid to attend, and many facing food insecurity, would be forced to make the choice to sever their education out of the necessity to earn a wage to afford their basic needs, were it not for Dr. Eddinger’s support to keep students on the path to earning their college degree. Dr. Eddinger has spearheaded efforts to address food insecurity at BHCC.

“My end goal in addressing food insecurity on campus is to get students to stay at college, and graduate,” says Eddinger, a Newton resident. “Once a student leaves BHCC, the odds of them returning are very low. As a result of food insecurity, many students forfeit their ability to earn a higher wage in the future, and their likelihood of breaking the cycle of poverty without a college degree.”

“Hunger perpetuates disparities in health, economic status, and educational outcomes,” Erin McAleer, President of Project Bread informs. “Hunger in any classroom—whether it be kindergarten or college—is simply unacceptable, and we applaud Dr. Eddinger for not only taking notice, but for taking action to address hunger head on at BHCC. Project Bread is proud to recognize Dr. Eddinger for her innovative thinking and commitment to preventing and ending hunger, so that all students at BHCC and other colleges are nourished, ready to learn, and free from the stress that accompanies food insecurity.”

Eddinger has been an active participant in the Voices of Hunger Summit, an annual conference convened by BHCC in 2017 that draws students, faculty, and community partners, to discuss the systemic causes of hunger at colleges throughout the Commonwealth, and to conceive of policy-driven solutions on both local and national levels. BHCC hosted the conference for the first two years, and continues to provide scholarships to make it accessible to institutions without the resources to attend.

The Patrick Hughes Award for Social Justice was created by Project Bread to honor the legacy of Patrick Hughes, whose deep-seated passion for social justice and entrepreneurial spirit led him to found Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger in 1969 as an innovative approach to raise awareness and funds for people living without enough to eat and continues to raise millions of dollars annually to support anti-hunger efforts in Massachusetts every first Sunday in May since its inception.

The Award recognizes an individual with an unyielding commitment to driving meaningful change by addressing the causes of hunger, thus carrying forward the spirit of Patrick’s legacy. Dr. Eddinger, was nominated by none other than Patrick’s son, Joe Hughes, Learning Assessment Coordinator at Cambridge College. “My father dedicated his life to working for the greater good,” says Hughes, “and his belief in the inherent worth and dignity of every human being.” Eddinger’s work to make sure every student has enough to eat is an active extension of this belief.

Project Bread is committed to preventing and ending hunger in Massachusetts, and, in recent years, their work has included assisting college students who, while in pursuit of higher education, experience hunger. “In serving these students, most of whom are currently ineligible for SNAP (food stamps), we recognize that broadening the eligibility requirements of this program is the only way to ensure all students can stay focused on their education,” says McAleer.

To address food insecurity at college campuses across Massachusetts, Project Bread has endorsed the College Student Hunger Act of 2019, which would expand access to SNAP to more low-income college students. The bill is sponsored by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and Representative Al Lawson (D-Fla.), “Having access to our basic human needs is a matter of social justice, which is what Patrick Hughes passionately fought for and this legislation will provide further support to Dr. Eddinger’s efforts to address food insecurity at BHCC, to provide low-income students with a more equitable opportunity to pursue a college degree.”

Project Bread encourages college students in Massachusetts to call our FoodSource Hotline (1-800-645-8333) for assistance accessing food, including with screening and application assistance for SNAP.

About Project Bread:

Project Bread is the leading statewide anti-hunger organization in Massachusetts. Beginning in 1969 with the first Walk for Hunger, the nonprofit focuses on driving systemic change to ensure people of all ages have reliable access to healthy food. Project Bread works collaboratively across sectors to create innovative solutions to end hunger and improve lives across the Commonwealth. For more information, visit: www.projectbread.org.

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