Food insecurity continues to threaten college completion, often alongside housing instability, mental health concerns and transportation barriers. Although campus food programs distribute millions of meals and serve hundreds of thousands of students each year, many operate with limited staff, uncertain funding and rising demand.
A report from the Hope Center for Student Basic Needs, Trellis Strategies and Swipe Out Hunger examines these challenges using responses from 112,240 students and 299 campus leaders across three surveys. The findings point to a significant gap between students’ needs and their use of available assistance.
Among food-insecure students surveyed by Trellis, 57 percent had used neither a campus food pantry nor Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. In the Hope Center survey, 76 percent said insufficient awareness of available resources or eligibility requirements prevented them from accessing support.
Gillian Kiernan, director of programs at Swipe Out Hunger, said stigma remains an obstacle even as colleges increase outreach. Some students may feel they are not facing enough hardship to seek help, she said, while many pantries are working to communicate that their services welcome all students and do not necessarily require an income qualification.
Availability also affects access. Thirty-one percent of food-insecure students reported that assistance was offered only when they were in class or at work, while 29 percent worried about taking resources from students they believed needed them more.
The report also links food insecurity with other basic-needs challenges. According to the Trellis survey, 58 percent of food-insecure students experienced housing insecurity, compared with 19 percent of food-secure students. Forty-two percent of food-insecure students reported symptoms of depression, twice the proportion among their food-secure peers.
Stacy Priniski, a research assistant professor at the Hope Center, said students facing food insecurity often balance academic work with financial strain, transportation problems and childcare responsibilities. These pressures are interconnected and can make it difficult for students to concentrate in class or manage their schedules, she said.
Campus programs face financial uncertainty of their own. More than 40 percent of campuses surveyed by Swipe Out Hunger said they rely primarily on donations to fund food-security resources. Priniski said unpredictable donations can force pantries to limit visits or the number of items students may take because administrators cannot reliably forecast their budgets.
The report recommends that states and institutions provide more consistent funding to establish a baseline budget for pantry operations, while continuing to supplement those resources through private donations. It notes that rising grocery prices are increasing costs for pantries and demand from students at the same time that donors may also be under financial pressure.
The research outlines four priorities for colleges and universities. First, institutions should build awareness by normalizing conversations about basic-needs insecurity and clearly explaining who can use available resources. Second, they should improve access by expanding hours and considering options such as food lockers, grab-and-go shelves and faculty referrals.
Third, colleges should strengthen infrastructure through dedicated annual funding, additional staffing and improved data collection. Finally, they should embed food security within broader student-success and retention strategies, using cross-campus coordination and regular evaluation to understand how basic-needs challenges affect degree completion.
Kiernan said campuses will need to determine which recommendation best fits their circumstances and resources, then build from that starting point. The report comes as uncertainty over federal and state support, including changes involving SNAP eligibility and funding, could further complicate students’ access to food assistance.
Sources: Inside Higher Ed.