Hunger

Food Insecurity
Is Common among
College Students
The most recent data indicate that 14 percent of U.S. households
experience some form of food insecurity each year. 6 No
comprehensive national research has been conducted to firmly
establish the prevalence of food insecurity among college students,
but available literature suggests that the rate of food insecurity among
college students is up to four times greater than the national average. 7
Local studies performed at individual colleges and university systems in
recent years have documented extensive food insecurity among college
students at those institutions.
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The Wisconsin HOPE Lab, a leading research lab at the University of
Wisconsin that aims to increase college attainment, studied Wisconsin
Pell Grant recipients in 2008 and 2009 and found that 71 percent
of Pell recipients reported changing their eating habits due to lack
of funds; 27 percent said that were eating less than they should
or cutting meal sizes; and 7 percent of two-year college students
reported going an entire day without food. 8
A 2011 study done at the City University of New York (CUNY)
system found that 39 percent of respondents were food insecure. 9
6 U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Food Security in the U.S.: Key Statistics & Graphics,”
September 8, 2015, http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-inthe-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx.
7 Clare Cady, “Food Insecurity as a Student Issue,” Journal of College and Character, no. 4 (2014),
265-271, doi:10.1515/jcc-2014-0031.
8 Katharine Broton et al, Wisconsin HOPE Lab, “Safety, Security, and College Attainment: An
Investigation of Undergraduates’ Basic Needs and Institutional Response,” October 2014, http://
www.wihopelab.com/publications/APPAM.Draft.10.28.2014.pdf.
9 Nicholas Freudenberg, Healthy CUNY Initiative, “Food Insecurity at CUNY: Results from a
Survey of CUNY Undergraduate Students,” April 2011, http://bit.ly/1MkQ2Vx
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