Tackling Hunger And Homelessness On Campus

Many months into the pandemic, we have witnessed extraordinary economic disruption and devastation. The effects have been far-reaching and prolonged, including across higher education. On four-year college campuses, recent survey data suggests that 15 percent of students are facing homelessness due to the pandemic and 38 percent of students are experiencing food insecurity. Imagine trying to focus on school when you’re not sure where you’ll find your next meal or even if you’ll have a safe place to sleep at night. Sadly, these aren’t academic questions for millions of students. They’re an everyday reality.  

Yet as we take stock of the pandemic’s extraordinary toll, we’re also reminded that hunger and homelessness are challenges not just in this moment but every moment. That’s why this week we recognize National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week: to spotlight the scale of the need, identify possible solutions, and marshal public support to solve these long-standing societal challenges.

Policymakers can help address the need. While an estimated 18 percent of college students are eligible for federal nutrition assistance to meet their food needs through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), only 3 percent of students access these benefits. Public universities are working to help students take advantage of desperately needed resources. But the federal government can help address student hunger by expanding college student eligibility for SNAP benefits and increasing outreach efforts to college students. Both moves can help alleviate hunger and ultimately improve learning.

Public universities also see a crucial role to play in addressing student hunger and food insecurity. At Morgan State University, students have access to the institution’s Freshly Program, which has a mobile application that allows students to navigate meal planning, the university’s public transportation offerings, and find grocery stores to gain access nutritious and affordable meals. Morgan State’s Food Resource Center provides food and toiletry items as well as nutrition and budgeting education while connecting students to external local food resources such as food banks.

The University at Albany is taking a similarly holistic approach to meeting student needs. The university’s Purple Pantry food pantry is providing not just food to students in need, but also services such as nutrition and financial management counseling. It also helps students apply for need-based federal food aid. Students from the School of Social Welfare help staff the pantry and refer students to other university resources that can help them stay on track to completing a degree.  

At the University of Toledo, the university brings together students, community organizations, and Aramark, the university’s food service provider, to address food insecurity and limit food waste through its Rocket Fuel program. The university notifies students who have opted into a notification system whenever fresh unused food from catering events is available for students. Students then pick up to-go containers of food in various campus locations. Student participation is tracked via Meal Alert Push Notification text messages. To date, the initiative has repurposed over 11,000 pounds of food that would normally have been disposed of, by placing it directly into students’ hands.

To help address homelessness, Wayne State University has helped precariously housed students find housing during the pandemic through a long-running program. The university’s Helping Individuals Go Higher Program started in 2013 with the aim of helping homeless and precariously housed students persist in their studies by providing financial support and other resources.

Florida International University is also working to address homelessness and help more students earn degrees through its Fostering Panther Pride Program. The initiative offers tailored academic and support services to former foster youth and students experiencing homelessness. The effort provides free tuition, housing, and meals to qualified homeless students. The program also pairs students with dedicated success coaches who deliver support to students navigating university processes and helps them use resources such as academic advising, tutoring, and career advising.

These individual institutional efforts to address hunger and homelessness on campus represent just a fraction of public universities’ work to meet basic student needs. Yet we know student hunger and homelessness are challenges for any society that’s committed to providing equitable access to the life-changing impact of a college education.  As we recognize National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week, we spotlight the students who are meeting extraordinary adversity with exceptional perseverance. But no student should face the obstacles of food insecurity or homelessness. Achieving that reality is what we commit to this week.