LIMERICK — With college tuition becoming more expensive, there are numerous things people need to consider when thinking about going to college.

First: How will they pay the tuition? Second: Can they attend full time, or will part-time work be better if they have to hold down a job? Third: How will they afford all of the textbooks for their classes?

Usually the last thing a college student thinks about is how they will get their next meal.

Residential students get a meal plan included as part of their tuition – but what if they run out of meals for the week? What about commuter and nontraditional students? Some of these students may need to decide if they will buy their textbooks or buy groceries for the week.

So it should be clear that hunger can be a big problem on college campuses and that there’s a need to fight food insecurity on campus.

This is where an on-campus food pantry would come in handy. This pantry would be available for student use and have food available for any student who may be struggling to keep themselves fed throughout the school year.

Some students may forget to pack a lunch or may not be able to afford food on campus. This is where a food pantry would be helpful. The pantry would have available quick-lunch options for the students, such as noodle cups and other microwaveable options. It would also provide some snacks that could be used to hold students over until they can get home to make a meal.

Two schools in the Portland area have or are in the process of creating on-campus food pantries for student use. Southern Maine Community College in South Portland started its food pantry, The Captain’s Cupboard, in 2013, and it has become a key resource for its student body and faculty members.

The University of Southern Maine is in the process of creating an on-campus food pantry that would be open to students. There is a clear need on both campuses, and most likely on other Maine college campuses as well.

I am part of USM’s Husky Hunger Initiative, a student group that is in the beginning stages of creating the food pantry. I have seen the struggle that college students have when it comes to hunger.

Where I work on campus, there is a shelf of food that students can take as needed. On a Monday, there will be a fully stocked shelf, and by the time I come back on Wednesday almost all of it will be gone. I also participate in running a free weekly breakfast, and at a recent meal, 100 people stopped to grab food before class – further evidence that there is hunger and food insecurity among our student body at USM.

SMCC did a needs assessment among its student body in 2012 and found that 9 percent of its students go without eating because of financial restraints. Since SMCC and USM serve similar populations, it is plausible that the USM student body has similar needs.

One of the key factors in thinking about creating a food pantry on campus is forming partnerships with outside community members as well as with administrators and organizations within your school. Community members could include your local food pantry or businesses that would be willing to donate to your cause.

USM has been working with Panera Bread to obtain donations to our weekly breakfast. We have also recently started reaching out to other businesses for donations.

To keep a food pantry sustainable, there have to be strong partnerships with outside institutions.

Solid connections within the institution are also important. Students would play a large role in this aspect of the pantry. The food pantry could be staffed either by work-study students, or students looking to satisfy the volunteer or service learning hours that are required for some courses.

Having a food pantry on campus could benefit students on many levels as they go through college.

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