The University of North Carolina (UNC) is expecting to implement a food bank for students who cannot afford enough meals in a day, a problem arising at many schools in the country.

The Daily Tar Heel reported the food pantry will be called the Carolina Cupboard and could arrive on the Chapel Hill campus by the 2014 fall semester. Roderick Gladney, a junior at UNC, is responsible for coming up with the idea.

"There have been times when I've been hungry and not had meal swipes and not had a job," Gladney told the Daily Tar Heel. "We were trying to find a way for student government to reach out to students and came up with the idea of a food bank."

A student who only identified herself as "M" told the campus newspaper she and her mother ate from food pantry for 13 years of her life. Even through she works two part-time jobs while attending school full-time, she cannot afford to eat enough meals in one day.

"It's really stressful to think about when I'm going to be able to eat," she said.

According to data from the College Board, tuition at private four-year schools has risen 15 percent, and 27 percent at public four-year schools, over the past five years. Some students have to pay their way through college to avoid taking out a loan and some make monthly payments for rent, a car and childcare.

Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina is a non-profit that sets up pantries for North Carolina Central University, Wake Forest and more than 30 other schools in the state. There are also national groups like the College and University Food Bank Alliance (CUFBA).

Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) in Kochville Township, Mich. recently opened a food bank with CUFBA's help. Nate Smith-Tyge, who runs Michigan State University's food bank, is a co-founder of CUFBA.

"It's a circular task," Smith-Tyge told Campus Reform. "A lot of people now have to work and go to school so if we can lessen their financial burden so they will have to work fewer hours, graduation, retention and completion rates will increase. Making sure people are food-secure helps academically."

Ross Fraser, director of media relations for Feeding America, said many college students are realizing that food banks are the only place where they can find help. The school typically has a set meal plan coupled with room and board fees and many college students who come from middle class families do not qualify for food stamps.

"Food insecurity is going up and up and up," he told Campus Reform. "It used to be a problem of just those who were poor and now it's with people who were middle class. One problem with full time college students is most of the time they don't qualify for food stamps and aren't getting help from the government."