College Students: The New Face of Poverty
Images by @hunger_free_or
I couldn’t wait to get to college.
It certainly ranks near the top of one of the best times in my life—socially, athletically, educationally, and culturally—I loved college. After obtaining my “Abitur” and graduating from the German high-school system, my parents put me on a plane to Georgia where I worked odd jobs in preparation for college expenses beyond tuition, room and board.
Exciting times. I was going to play tennis, soccer, get my art degree, maybe consider medicine, and figure it all out along the way. The world was my oyster.
My parents didn’t have much, earning a missionary’s salary, so I was fairly certain I’d need some sort of job to afford additional expenses, pay for supplies, and enjoy a little spending money.
Yes, my summers were spent working full-time and replenishing my meager bank account for the semester ahead instead of going abroad like many of my peers and I remember having to constantly budget my monies.
But, hunger, housing?
That was never an issue.
Things have changed.
The Hope Lab Study
Since being established in 2015, The Hope Lab project has closely followed the needs of college students and their ability to secure basic needs, including access to food, housing, transportation, health and childcare.
In total, over 550,000 college students have been surveyed across 530 plus colleges and universities, revealing alarming rates of food and housing insecurity among college students.
In 2018:
• 45% of college students reported food insecurity within the last 30 days
• 56% of college students reported housing insecurity within the last year
• 17% of college students reported being homeless in the last year
In 2019, these numbers improved some, but remained well into the double digits. And by 2020, with the outbreak of COVID-19, higher education suffered tremendously as students were either forced to drop out or struggle with few resources.
At a time when you should be figuring things out, getting your degree, adulting, taking steps towards independence, exploring the world, meeting new people, and going to football games, you’re just trying to make ends meet.
Not surprisingly, college students are the latest population increasingly at risk of experiencing food and housing insecurity—joining a list of other demographics struggling to survive: single-parent households, low-wage workers, recent immigrants, older people, and those living in poverty.
Furthermore, basic needs insecurities affects marginalized students—transgender, Black, Native American, foster care—at disproportionately rates when compared to White students.
Food Insecurity: is the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, or the ability to acquire such foods in a socially acceptable manner.
Homelessness: means that a person is without a place to live, often residing in a shelter, an automobile, an abandoned building or outside, while
Housing Insecurity: includes a broader set of challenges such as the inability to pay rent or utilities or the need to move frequently.
Why Does This Matter?
Hunger is associated with poorer academic outcomes.
Housing insecurity is strongly associated with a student’s ability to secure credits, obtain a degree and graduate.
Basic needs insecurity has been linked to poorer self-reported health, symptoms of depression and higher levels of perceived stress.
Colleges with dwindling enrollment and unable to graduate their students lose critical government funding.
Individuals are frequently forced to make difficult decisions between surviving and education, such as eating less, living in suboptimal or unsafe conditions, working full-time, or dropping out of school altogether.
All of us lose if the backbone of innovation, economic stability, job force, growth—the next generation—lose their ability to achieve higher levels of gainful employment, meaningful and fulfilling careers, and independence.
Images by @hunger_free_or
College Hunger Is Not A Rite Of Passage
If you are attending college classes more than 50% of the time and meet other criteria, you may qualify for support with SNAP or one of many other programs offered to assist students in meeting their needs.
Different states have different websites—some nicer, bright and helpful while others are drab and drown you in links and PDF’s—find your state’s requirements and resources at:
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/state-directory
Unfortunately, not all websites feature the recent updates for college students as clearly and visibly as Oregon’s websites and initiatives to increase student awareness of these resources. If you’re having difficulty finding adequate information, check with Student Affairs or take a look at: www.oregonhunger.org website.
SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
SNAP is a federal food program offered to certain low-income populations who qualify for additional assistance. (When it comes to poverty, SNAP is only a drop in the bucket. It would be far wiser to simply ensure a livable minimum wage and fund quality education with appropriate taxation of all citizens based on income.)
More recently, SNAP eligibility (the COVID-19 pandemic) has been expanded to include college students attending classes at least half-time and who are between the ages 18 to 49 years old regardless of employment. Prior to this, SNAP was only available to college students if they worked at least 20 hours per week.
Other criteria may apply depending on an individuals situation. Sadly, a large number of potentially eligible college students are not receiving these benefits.
Money Left On The Table
Reasons many students do not apply include:
Unawareness. College students are often not aware of SNAP and other federal assistance programs.
Lack of visibility and complexity of applications. Not all colleges have adequate outreach nor skilled and dedicated staff to assist students in benefit awareness and applications.
Stigma, Stereotypes & Misperceptions
Even if a student is aware of SNAP, negative stereotypes about poverty, who experiences it and who requires assistance can be roadblocks in asking for help.
Misperceptions such as these not only ignore the numerous factors influencing one’s ability to obtain resources—often outside of our control—but, ignore a deep-seated history of inequality and oppression actively hindering certain populations from opportunity and access to wealth.
Not surprisingly, these beliefs are frequently associated with prejudices, discrimination and racial components.
Solutions proposed by the Hope Lab and #RealCollege Reports
Students have lead the way proactively with numerous initiatives—establishing and maintaining food pantries, food drives, and raising awareness amongst students and faculty of the impact of basic needs insecurity on a student’s ability to thrive.
Other initiatives have included:
donating meals from their meal plan: www.swipehunger.org
establishing a network of safe housing and shelters
developing meal sharing apps
creating comprehensive resource centers with services to address the breadth of poverty, including hunger, homelessness, healthcare and housing insecurities: https://studentlife.oregonstate.edu/bnc
lobbying and advocacy: https://studentsagainsthunger.org/
Colleges must be vested in the development and success of their students:
recognizing students in need
engaging in regular outreach campaigns to ensure visibility of available resources and assistance programs
partnering with community, local farmers and food vendors
hiring dedicated and competent staff knowledgeable of benefits, eligibility and skilled in the applicationprocess to secure aid
working with third-party organizations like Single Stop (www.singlestop.org) or The Benefits Bank, to assist low-income households and individuals identify underutilized and untapped work, health, and income benefits, support and resources, including tax assistance.
providing on-campus legal counsel and housing assistance when needed
keeping dorms, libraries, cafeterias open for eligible students during the summer, winter, fall and spring breaks
considering on-campus child-care centers for single-parent households
enrollment is certainly important for colleges and universities, but retaining and graduating students successfully ensures ongoing and government funding
Policymakers (and everyone for that matter) should be interested in the well-being of the next generation and recognize that students (like anyone) can only excel and flourish when their basic needs are met—our future as a society and country depends on it:
investing in higher education
working towards affordable education for all who are qualified to attend college
reducing the complexity of eligibility and applying for financial aid
reassessing calculation process for comprehensive financial aid, not just tuition and fees, but living expenses.
identifying creative and constructive ways to repay educational loans quickly and reduce ongoing debt
All of us should be interested in the success of generations to come:
vote for policies that support affordable education
consider renting a room at a discounted price for college students
check in with the college students in your life to ensure they are doing ok
send care packages frequently and spoil them
invite college students away from home for dinner, especially over the holidays
if you’re in nearby, take them shopping or go out for a meal
remember their birthdays and include a card with cash
donate to your local college food pantries
volunteer at the college food pantry
Growth subsides when youth are discouraged.
Let’s help the next generation succeed and keep their futures bright.
Resources:
SNAP College Toolkit. https://oregonhunger.org/snap-college-toolkit/
Goldrick-Rab, Sara et al. “Wisconsin Hope Lab. Still Hungry and Homeless in College. April 2018.” www.hope4college.comhttps://hope4college.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Wisconsin-HOPE-Lab-Still-Hungry-and-Homeless.pdf
Baker-Smith, Christine et al. “#RealCollege 2020: Five Years of Evidence on Campus Basic Needs Insecurities.” www.hope4college.comhttps://hope4college.com/realcollege-2020-five-years-of-evidence-on-basic-needs-insecurity/
Author not listed.“#RealCollege 2021: Basic Needs Insecurity During The Pandemic.” www.hope4college.com https://hope4college.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/RCReport2021.pdf
Feeding America: https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america
USDA Food & Nutrition Services: https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/state-directory