A national survey out Wednesday shows that 4 out of 10 college students experienced food insecurity in the past month while about half of them are dealing with housing challenges. Some – 17% – are actually homeless.
Vanessa Coca’s a senior researcher at the Hope Center of College, Community and Justice at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She says the first year they heard back from 4300 students. Five years in, 330,000 have now responded.
“Our results are fairly consistent,” Coca says. “Which suggest to us that basic needs and security is a condition challenging a large segment of students across the U.S.”
We surveyed nearly 167,000 students from 227 2-year and 4-year institutions in 2019 for our latest #RealCollege national survey report and found the following: https://t.co/MQaz2EDYD5 pic.twitter.com/dzY4Z2ibMo
— Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice (@hope4college) February 12, 2020
Coca says at first the survey focused on 2-year community college students, because they generally face the most challenges. Schools in the Dallas County system were included in the research. Now, 4-year schools are also part of the latest survey. It hardly matters. All students face food and housing challenges.
“There is evidence that shows that housing insecurity, for example, does affect student’s outcomes,” Coca says. “And this could be grades, attendance and just ultimately, the likelihood of finishing college. Basic needs and security does pose a threat to a student’s likelihood of completing their programs.”
So a growing number of colleges are partnering with local officials to help students with the likes of paying the rent or keeping the lights on. Hungry students may be eligible for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps.
