Expanding SNAP Benefits On Campus Will Help Stave Off Hunger For 1 In 3 College Students
It’s harder to learn when you are suffering from hunger or searching for your next meal.
But while around 30 million K-12 students in public schools are eligible for free or reduced lunch, it is a different matter when they leave. Many of those who graduate from high school and enroll in higher education institutions find they no longer have access to federal food programs.
The nation’s leading anti-hunger program for adults, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides food assistance to almost 44 million Americans. Only an estimated 18% of college students have been eligible for the program in recent years, with a low 3% actually receiving food assistance.
This may be changing. Congress recently passed legislation that included relief for the estimated one in three...