Davidson Honors College Students Present on Food Security at National Conference

April 8, 2024

MISSOULA - In late March, Jayden Beed, a University of Montana junior in the College of Business and Davidson Honors College (DHC), hosted a workshop on navigating food justice on campuses at the 2024 Western Regional Honors Conference. She is currently leading a project at the DHC to install a food pantry and shared lessons from that experience at the conference alongside UM student Abby Sherwood.

“Access to nutrient-rich and culturally appropriate food is a human right. However, most college students, and others, face many obstacles to obtaining food resources,” said Beed. “We are excited to present this workshop to engage other honors colleges around the country on student food insecurity and ways they can help in their campus communities.”

Beed, 21, was born and raised in Missoula and is a business and pre-law major at UM. Abby Sherwood, 21, is a junior environmental science and pre-law major at UM. Beed and Sherwood were named Justice Challenge Scholars at the 2024 DHC Evening of Excellence for their work in food justice.

At the University of Montana, 63% of students in 2020 experienced insecurity of basic needs, and food insecurity continues to grow. The UM Food Pantry saw nearly twice the visits in 2022 as they did the year before. 

The Honors Conference at California State University included hundreds of students, faculty, and administrators from Honor Colleges in 13 western states. Beed also sat on the main panel presentation with DHC Dean Timothy Nichols and Assistant Dean Kaetlyn Cordingley. Last year, the regional conference was held at the University of Montana.