A new survey is giving us an inside look at how prevalent food insecurity is on college campuses.

The HOPE Lab recently released Still Hungry and Homeless in College, the largest national survey of basic needs of two-year and four-year university, college students and community college students.

The survey included 66 colleges and universities around the country, including two in Michigan.

The Kresge Foundation provided funding for a 2016 survey of basic needs insecurity which helped to guide and inform the latest report.

Highlights of the data:

• Nationwide, 36 percent of college students reported they had experienced food insecurity within the last month.

• About 42 percent of community college students reported experiencing food insecurity.

• About 54 percent of African-American students attending a two-year college said they were experiencing food insecurity compared to 37 percent of white students in a two-year program.

• For those who had been in foster care at some point, about 63 percent said they were food insecure.

• Students over the age of 21 had the highest rates of food insecurity compared to those who were 18 to 20 years old.

Why are college students still facing hunger? The Washington Post reports there’s more low-income students heading to college now through scholarships and other opportunities, yet there’s a lack of corresponding programs and polices to support them once they’re on campus.

The report says food insecurity on college campuses is systemic.

Higher education has been working to address food insecurity. Michigan State University (MSU) established the MSU Food Bank in 1993, the first campus-based food assistance program in the U.S. for students and their families.

MSU also co-founded The College and University Food Bank Alliance (CUFBA), which now consists of 613 colleges and universities across the U.S. who have food pantries on site and/or are working to address food insecurity among students. About 21 Michigan colleges and universities are members of CUFBA and several have pantry programs such as Wayne State University’s (WSU) The W Food Pantry.

WSU’s pantry, supported in part by the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, just celebrated its one-year anniversary this month. Since it opened the pantry has served nearly 900 students more than 12,708 pounds of food.

Along with these promising programs, the report provides several recommendations that could address the systemic issues leading to food insecurity among college students.

Recommendations:

• Design programs to proactively support students that are accessible and widely marketed to students.

• Partner with community agencies and programs to serve students.

• Expand access to public benefits for students including child care and adding SNAP exemptions which would allow enrollment in a technical degree program to meet the exemption for work requirements.

• Fund students’ living expenses and other expenses beyond tuition.

The Community Foundation of St. Clair County’s Complete Your Degree Program (CYD), in partnership with the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, is an innovative scholarship model which focuses on supporting students beyond tuition. CYD will provide life needs support for books, supplies and short-term expenses that may include transportation, food, medical care, child care and housing.

“Our community foundation feels a sense of urgency to join the growing chorus of other foundations around the country who are realizing we have to adjust our scholarship model to focus on total life success,” Randy Maiers, president, Community Foundation of St. Clair County said. “Our CYD program, launched quietly in late 2017, is the beginning of a completely new business model for our scholarship assets. This new model will include addressing all life needs and obstacles which prevent young adults from achieving the dream of a college education.”

Want more?

Read HOPE Lab’s full report: Still Hungry and Homeless in College.

Check out the list of Michigan colleges and universities who have food pantries and assistance programs.

Learn more about the Complete Your Degree program.