Gentle chatter and laughter accompany the creation of fragrant dishes. The smell of rich food drifts through the air from the serving plates. Preparing food at the Pendulum Court Cafe and growing closer to the people she works with are some of the experiences that Amber Bascom (MS ’25, NDFS) will miss most when she leaves BYU.
As a mother of four children, Bascom worked as a school nutrition assistant and was impressed by the work of the school’s registered dietitian. Inspired, she applied for an undergraduate degree in dietetics at BYU. "I really didn't think I would even get in," Bascom recalled. "I was like, I'll just apply and see what happens."
Bascom is now a graduate student and works closely with her advisor, Dr. Rickelle Richards, researching food insecurity and food assistance programs. As a young mother, Bascom participated in the food assistance program, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Now, she wants to help more people learn about the resources available to them.
Bascom is well aware of the stigma associated with food assistance programs and understands how difficult it can be for people to utilize the resources designed to assist them. Part of Bascom’s work included analyzing results from a survey that was developed to determine student food insecurity rates at three universities. From early survey results, Bascom found that “among those universities, there was about a 43 percent rate of food insecurity, and only about 33 percent of those were using food assistance.” As she worked to refine the preliminary results, Bascom was interested in discovering the factors associated with food assistance use. To do this, she compared the data of students who were using food assistance to those who were not.
Bascom described different programs designed to help those struggling with food insecurity, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), WIC, community food pantries and kitchens, and faith-based resources like the bishop’s storehouse. She noted that when people use food assistance "studies have shown that they have better diet quality, better sleep, better academic performance, and reduced depressive symptoms."
Bascom is grateful for the opportunity she’s had to learn at BYU and receive guidance from her mentor, Richards. “She's been absolutely wonderful, and she's helped me every step of the way," Bascom said. Bascom also had the chance to mentor her own group of undergraduate students in the Pendulum Court Cafe. There, she and two other graduate students worked with a team of undergraduates to design and prepare well-balanced meals.
Once she graduates, Bascom’s goal is to become a registered dietitian and return to food service or work with food assistance programs. “I want to help people who are in vulnerable situations feel loved and feel like it's okay, and it's going to get better.”