Sarah Sem, President of The Store at George Washington University (GW), will be speaking at the Washington D.C. Food Tank Summit, “Cultivating the Next Generation of Young Food Leaders."

At GW, Sem serves as President of The Store, a food pantry providing resources and support for students living with food insecurity. During her time as President, Sem has helped over 600 members of the GW community and developed the mission of The Store: “to address student need at GW by offering food and other resources to ensure that every student has the opportunity to succeed.”

Food Tank had the opportunity to speak with Sarah about her work at The Store:

Food Tank (FT): What originally inspired you to get involved in your work?

Sarah Sem (SS): I wanted to get involved in The Store because when I first learned about it, I was curious about the need it addressed. I worked at food shelves when I was younger, but I never thought those issues extended to college students, especially at a university like GW.

FT: How are you helping to build a better food system?

SS: At The Store, we’re helping build a better food system by raising awareness about and providing solutions to problems like balancing a healthy diet with a limited budget. We tie the state of the food system closely to education, as food insecurity can directly impact a student’s performance and level of engagement in school. Additionally, we need to solve the systemic imbalance between convenience, cost, and nutrition, it shouldn’t be as hard as it is to eat healthy.

Read the full article about food security on college campuses by Katherine Walla at Food Tank.