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Tierra Hall-Edward hopes people understand that frequenting the Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) Resource Center and Food Pantry represents an act of strength, not failure.

“In truth,” says Hall-Edward, Director of Counseling Services, “it shows strength and connection, reflecting our ‘from RVCC, for RVCC’ spirit. The Pantry isn’t charity; it’s community. It exists to support everyone in the RVCC family, helping us care for one another, and building a stronger, more compassionate campus.”

At Raritan Valley Community College and across the country, food insecurity is a real threat to many college students. Food insecurity describes someone not being able to attain enough food, or have the proper quality of food, to meet their basic needs. It can go far beyond hunger, however, affecting their mental health, academic performance, and life outside of school. Nationally, 40% of all college students and 47% of community college students experience food insecurity. And the situation is only getting more severe. At RVCC, there were 9440 visits to the Resource Center & Food Pantry in 2025, representing a 21% increase from the previous year.

Addressing Basic Needs

Open to the entire College community, the RVCC Resource Center and Food Pantry, which Hall-Edward supervises, addresses food insecurity and provides students with the basic needs to help keep them in school. The goal, she explains, is to alleviate any barriers that might prevent students from achieving their educational goals.

In her role at RVCC, Hall-Edward supports and leads mental health staff and campus-wide efforts focused on student well-being and access to care. Her hard work and dedication have not gone unnoticed: She was honored by the  Somerset County Business Partnership as one of the Class of 2025 40 Under 40. According to information from the SCBP, the recipients are “a distinguished group of young professionals who are driving innovation, strengthening the local economy, and making a meaningful impact across the community.” Hall-Edward brings several years of experience in higher education to her position—including close to four years at RVCC and about five years at Rockland Community College—along with a strong clinical background in counseling services. She received a BA in Psychology from City College – New York and an MS in Mental Health Counseling from Long Island University.

Her background is valuable as she supervises staff at the Resource Center, which helps students in a variety of ways, including providing appropriate attire for job interviews, along with every-day and seasonal clothing to meet students’ year-round needs. The Center also can offer financial support such as gas cards and grocery store cards, book vouchers, transportation assistance, loaning of laptops, and housing and medical resources.

Located at the back of the Resource Center, the Food Pantry is lined with shelves stocked with non-perishable grocery items, including canned vegetables and soups, pasta, dry cereals and oats, peanut butter and jelly, packaged macaroni and cheese, and more.

To assist in its efforts, the College greatly benefits from a wide range of donations to the Center and Food Pantry from community partners each year, including over $1,000 worth of fresh produce, meat, dairy products, and pantry items from the weekly Wegmans on-campus delivery; clothing and food provided by the Somerset Food Bank; contributions from the Community Food Bank of New Jersey; and additional financial support from community donors, including student associations, faculty, and staff. For those in need, the Center also receives donations of menstrual and sanitary products and diapers for family care.

Students also benefit from the Center in other ways, such as volunteering there as part of their service learning experience through The Pray Family Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement at RVCC.

As one student, who did not wish to be identified, notes, “I was first introduced to the Resource Center via service learning. That experience allowed me to learn about all the amazing work that the Resource Center does and allowed me to play a part in it. What I love most is the community that the Center creates. I always loved seeing the same faces come into the Center and seeing community ties being formed. A lot of people would come to grab snacks, groceries, or menstrual/household items from our pantry, or grab clothes from our free clothes shop, or others would just come to sit in the Resource Center because it felt like a safe and comfortable space.”

The students adds, “Providing people with access to resources and basic needs is very important, and I think that resources are a vital part of RVCC, ensuring everyone on campus has their needs met. On a personal level, the Center has inspired me to be more involved in my community at RVCC and my community back home. The Resource Center has definitely become my favorite part of RVCC.”

Asked whether students’ needs have changed since she’s been involved with the Resource Center and Food Pantry,  Hall-Edward says, “The core needs like housing, financial stability, and access to food have always been there. What’s changed is the complexity and scale of those needs. We’re seeing growing instability as students navigate rising costs, limited resources, and broader economic challenges.”

She continues, “At the same time, funding cuts to community organizations and food pantries mean there’s less support available to meet increasing demand. Students today are juggling more uncertainty, often in multiple areas of their lives. So, while the needs themselves haven’t changed, the challenges around meeting them have become more sophisticated and urgent.”

“Generosity & Gratitude”

In response to this urgency, last fall the RVCC community displayed its willingness to “give back” and help those in need during an event created and led by the RVCC Foundation. Titled “An Evening of Generosity & Gratitude,” the program offered the opportunity for the Foundation to thank and celebrate its generous donors and also make strides in addressing food insecurity on campus. Proceeds benefited the Resource Center and Food Pantry.

Those attending the event were asked to bring a $30 donation, a $30 ShopRite gift card, or a minimum of $30 worth of grab-and-go snacks or toiletry items, all to be donated to the Resource Center and Food Pantry. The funds were amplified by a generous pledge by the RVCC Foundation Board of Directors—initiated by vice chair, Dan Van Tran—which offered a two-times match (an additional $60) for anyone attending and donating items or funds at the event.

In total, over $66,000 was raised during the celebration and through online fundraising—thanks, in large part, to a $50,000 anonymous gift to the Resource Center and Food Pantry, which was announced during the program. Some 75 guests attended the event, which featured entertainment by RVCC student musicians Daniel Santos and Nathaniel Richemond.

“We are grateful for the generosity of our RVCC colleagues, community members, the RVCC Foundation Board of Directors, and especially our anonymous donor. It is inspiring to witness this collective support, all focused on such an essential need for our students. This fundraising result couldn’t be more important or more timely,” Mike Marion, Executive Director, RVCC Foundation and RVCC Alumni Association, said at the time.

The event also served as a ceremonial kickoff for the RVCC Foundation’s fundraising campaign to support hunger, which has brought in more support for those on campus facing food insecurity.

And that need extends beyond RVCC students, notes Hall-Edward. She says that many people misunderstand what food insecurity is and who it affects. Some assume it only impacts students, or that the College’s staff and faculty would “never” need the campus Food Pantry.

However, she continues, “anyone—students, staff, or faculty—can face food insecurity. Rising costs, family responsibilities, and unexpected expenses make it hard for many people in our community to afford healthy meals.”

And the Resource Center and Food Pantry helps navigate those challenges for anyone on campus—supporting and strengthening the College’s “community.”

To help the Foundation’s ongoing efforts to address food insecurity on campus, visit www.raritanval.edu/hunger.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 4, 2026

Media contact: Donna Stolzer, 908-526-1200, ext. 8383