A new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has put a national spotlight on the issue of food insecurity while also offering possible remedies on what can be done to curtail this growing crisis.
The report, “Food Insecurity: Better Information Could Help Eligible College Students Access Federal Food Assistance Benefits,” was requested by four U.S. senators and released by GAO, which provides information to Congress that helps inform policy decisions.
Wednesday’s report details information gleaned from 31 studies. GAO also contacted 14 colleges to find out how those institutions were addressing student food insecurity/hunger. By example, all 14 had on-campus food pantries.
The demographics for college students have changed dramatically over the past decade. The image of a student between the ages of 18-22 entering college from their parental home is no longer the majority, said Kathryn Larin, director in the education, workforce and income security team of GAO.
“More than 70 percent of college students fall in that non-traditional category,” she said, noting that the number of first-generation and low income students is steadily rising.
As the report noted, sometimes students have to decide between feeding their families and staying in college. Hunger and food insecurity impact academic success.
A significant highlight of the report is that many of these students qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, but are not accessing those benefits either due to a lack of familiarity or other reasons. Fifty-seven percent of potentially eligible students are not utilizing SNAP. As a result, some state SNAP agencies are reaching out to colleges. The report also noted that the information pipeline needs to be strengthened because at nine of the 14 colleges contacted, some college officials and students were either unaware of SNAP or did not fully understand the student eligibility rules.
