Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Study: Over a third of college students don’t get enough to eat

Posted in:

Illinois

According to a first-of-its-kind survey released Tuesday by researchers at Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab, 36 percent of students on U.S. college campuses do not get enough to eat, and a similar number lack a secure place to live. The report, which is the first to include students from two-year, four-year, private and public universities, including GWU, found that nearly 1 in 10 community college students have gone a whole day without eating in the past month. That number was 6 percent among university students.

Researchers blame ballooning college costs, inadequate aid packages and growing enrollment among low-income students - as well as some colleges’ unwillingness to admit they have a hunger problem. College hunger is not a new issue, researchers caution. But it appears to be growing worse, and not merely because college is getting more expensive.

* WIU is a bit ahead of the curve here. From a March 27th press release…

In the spirit of Western Illinois University’s core value of social responsibility, a group of volunteers have spent several months developing the WIU Food Pantry. The pantry will provide free, nonperishable food items to the WIU community beginning Thursday, March 29. […]

Food is available to all individuals with a valid WIU identification card, regardless of income. There is also currently a student-run food pantry on WIU’s Quad Cities campus in Building C.

The idea for the pantry was born after Mandi McRaven, who works in the University Union, approached Dietetics Assistant Professor Emily Shupe about the need for a food pantry on campus. Through McRaven’s position at the University, she mentors students and said she learned many, particularly those who live off campus, were having difficulty affording food.

“I started to realize there was a need on our Macomb campus,” said McRaven. “University Housing and Dining Services does an awesome job of providing resources for students on campus, but some of our students don’t live on campus and have meal plans. I learned through some research that many campuses are opening food banks, and I thought ‘Why not us?’”

* AP…

A group of students studying diet and nutrition sent out a campus survey last year to gauge interest in a food bank. They found that nearly half of students who responded had reported going hungry in the past month.

The survey results inspired students in the School of Agriculture to hold a food drive. They collected more than 1,100 pounds of non-perishable food for the pantry project.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 1:52 pm

Comments

Every college student I worked with in food services at college were there for the free meals. It was the perk.

Comment by Robert Lincoln Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 2:06 pm
One wonders about this since today’s college students look heavier than ones 15 and 25 years ago….

Comment by Steve Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 2:16 pm
You know what that means the dems will find them away to get them a link card

Comment by You know Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 2:17 pm
college is very expensive. usually the stories are just about athletes and their needs. there are many college students who are suffering because the costs are very high.

Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 2:18 pm
Wow, students are going hungry and you all are making fun of them. Wow. Just wow.

I think I’m done reading all your comments.

Comment by late lunch Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 2:24 pm
College students can’t get foodstamps unless they have one of these eligibility requirements
1 working 20 hours a week
2 in a federal work study program
3 have a child under five
4 disabled or significant medical condition.

Just being poor doesn’t qualify
I hate enforcing this policy

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 2:28 pm
Governors State University has had a food pantry since 2015. The Food Pantry has expanded beyond providing just food, it also supplies personal care items (toothbrushes, razors, soap, etc.) as well as supplies for toddlers and infants (bottles, formula, diapers, etc.) to the student population.

It’s a very real problem.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 2:32 pm
EIU has had a food pantry open to students since 2016 and other community options available, regardless of income. https://www.dailyeasternnews.com/2016/06/22/wesley-food-pantry-open-during-summer/

https://www.dailyeasternnews.com/2018/02/11/local-pantries-are-a-source-of-food-other-necessities/

Comment by BluePanther Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 2:37 pm
Capital Fax is one of the few places where I recommend my friends read the comments. Not today, folks not this post.

Comment by frayedcat Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 2:46 pm
FYI, Springfield residents, UIS does have a food pantry and accepts donations.
https://www.uis.edu/studentaffairs/uiscares/

Comment by Beth Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 2:51 pm
I know a few families benefitting from food banks, but aren’t college students and can’t afford college or have credit for loans. These food banks are open to anyone, including college students.

Everyone, regardless of their educational accomplishments need to know that poverty is real. It is good to both give, and to get. Focusing on college students as though they aren’t adults, or can’t choose their situation is a bit much for me.

I went hungry in two different countries pursuing my education. It was my choice. I knew the costs. I was an adult.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 2:56 pm
I guess it’s a much different time. But, I worked at least 20 hours a week in college. Nearly everyone I knew did. Back then, 18 Credit hours was a pretty normal load too. The cafeteria was a cafeteria and not a food court, but it probably encouraged a little better nutrition. I say probably because a large percentage of the offerings weren’t immediately identifiable. But, Jell-o, I always knew what it was. Still like it. In spite of Bill Cosby.

Comment by A guy Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 2:56 pm
I know that back in the day garbage is how over middle class white guys feel superior, but here is the reality:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-students-working-a-lot-in-college/
(MoneyWatch) Studies have suggested that having a job while attending college can be a big plus. But while Colleges often recommend that students work no more than 10 to 15 hours a week, many are clocking in far more hours.

A new U.S. Census report determined that 71 percent of the nation’s 19.7 million college undergraduateswere working in 2011. Of that number, one in five undergrads were working at least 35 hours a week year-round.

Among undergrads who weren’t full-time workers, more than half of them clocked in more than 20 hours a week.

The percentage of college studentswho worked full-time throughout the year varied by state. States with the lowest percentage of full-time college students were in the Northeast and the West. States with the highest percentage of full-time workers were also located in the West, as well as the Mid-Atlantic.

—————

Most indications are this is at least flat or increasing since 2018. College students come from a more diverse background than in the past and college costs more now. I’m sure you all walked up hill both ways, but a little bit of empathy for those who don’t have it as good as you did would be appropriate.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 3:22 pm
NIU has had a food pantry for several years. http://www.niu.edu/studentinvolvement/community-service/food-pantry/index.shtml

Why do some people find the struggle of college students to make ends meet to be a right of passage (or even amusing)? What happened to giving people a hand up? If you want these folks to be productive, tax-paying citizens, the best way to help achieve that goal is to help them get through college with as little debt as possible. The cost of a BS or BA degree is relatively small and has a big payoff.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 3:25 pm
A guy -
Back in my day, I could work over the summer and 10 - 15 hours a week at school and have enough spending money. I could get a government loan for the tuition and my parents paid for room and board. It’s not like that now. I know of many parents/students that have to get private loans on top of government loans and savings. The summer jobs and part time semester jobs aren’t cutting it for spending money either. The costs have risen faster than the income has.

Vanilla Man
- No one is saying that other adults and families aren’t also hurting. But people are aware of them - they aren’t aware of college students. Because people don’t consider what I just typed in response to a guy. So, can’t we think of all the people(including college students who may be 30 years of age) who need food help rather that be annoyed because a subset is brought to our attention?

Comment by thoughts matter Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 3:27 pm
VanillaMan and AGuy- I get what you guys are saying. I worked all four years at Northwestern for the food service. What the post is talking about are the folks I see every day in East St.Louis. The are going to SWIC or Louis and Clark, McKendry if they are smart. They come from poverty. There aren’t jobs or even work study at some of these schools. Many times what student loans they can get aren’t sufficient. I see these folks literally every day. Inevitably they accidentally reveal they are going to school. I then have to ask the questions. How fun is it for me to make a college student cry because I just took away their food stamps. 192 a month was all they had to eat. And I just took it all away. And Vanilla, I will hazard a guess that life when you were in school was a lot less expensive. I would ask that we examine our own privileges and factor in the reality of poverty, race, unemployment and other barriers to self sufficiency that we as privileged folk don’t have.
51% of illinois kids get free or reduced price lunch
My own daughter’s boyfriend, the valedictorian of her Junior class, is one of them. She told me that yesterday. Talk about a privilege check.
We have to do better
We must help people achieve
Especially students who are trying to better themselves.
Let’s stop with the “back in the day”

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 3:32 pm
At the four year colleges for which I have seen the numbers, room and board runs between 11 or so and up to 17 grand a year. The numbers are staggering. While most require some form of meal plan for freshmen, past the first year they do not.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 3:34 pm
This is a tragedy. We have todo better for these young people!

Comment by Shytown Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 3:38 pm
Honeybear is right guys. When you went to school the government paid for most of it. You just didn’t see it because it came to the universities in so many forms. Now, before the budget impasse under Rauner ISU was down to a 17% of operating budget from the state. (Now the state does also pick up pensions but was woefully behind on capitol improvements, so score that how you please.)

In recent memory the state had picked up 50% of operating costs. In 1959 the state picked up almost all of operating costs. So the older you are, the more you have to be thankful for and the less you should look askance at today’s students, whose tuition is no longer a fee. They pay for their education. You never did.

Comment by HistProf Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 3:52 pm
==And Vanilla, I will hazard a guess that life when you were in school was a lot less expensive==

1996?
Germany
That exchange rate?

Nope. You are wronv.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 3:55 pm
V-Man,

Also koennen wir auch auf Deutsch reden?

Comment by HistProf Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 4:03 pm
==Talk about a privilege check.==
Speak for yourself.
My wife and I were both heckled by our families for attending universities when none of them did, or even finish high school.

South siders not living in Hyde Park aren’t privileged, regardless of race or gender. Don’t even try to guilt me, or I’ll make you meet my cousins when they’re out on parole.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 4:04 pm
V-man,

Are there some missing comments? I’m not seeing who is guilting you?

Thoughtsmatter 3:27 is right.

Comment by HistProf Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 4:10 pm
Ich würde eher nicht.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 4:10 pm
How would you translate, “check your privilege”? I’m not Catholic, but I do recognize a guilt trip.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 4:14 pm
==or can’t choose their situation ==

Quite the lecturer today aren’t we?

==I went hungry in two different countries pursuing my education.==

That’s nice. But who cares. Because VMan did it these guys and gals just need to deal with it right? Please.

Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 4:20 pm
===Every college student I worked with in food services at college were there for the free meals. It was the perk.===
Did that also for two years but since I lived in the dorm and had a meal plan all that money went to beer money. But when I moved off campus I worked in a bar that had food. Probably ate 3/4 of my meals there. Maybe more. Since we were paid lousy and the tips were almost non existent it was definitely a great perk even if we were not supposed to (Thanks Murph!!)

Comment by Been There Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 4:30 pm
Talk about a privilege check was directed at myself. Learning Kolton ate a reduced price lunch made me challenge my own privilege.
So let me rephrase. Your experience in two other countries pursuing your education should not be the metric applied to determine whether we as a society should address food insecurity in college students. Neither should your concept of what an adult is or your conception of where or what poverty is. Respectfully. Neither should mine. I was admitting this with my story of Kolton. I was trying to point out that we privileged as I would bet anything, despite your protestations, that all of us on this blog are, need to open up and acknowledge and address the needs of others. And no I won’t speak for myself on this point. Outing privilege makes most all of us uncomfortable. But without doing so we are blindly discussing things of which we do not know. “Let them eat cake”
Sure I’m privileged. In almost every way. Yet I try overtly to challenge myself and walk in another’s shoes. And yes, I think my intension gives me a better shot at advocacy on behalf of others. Your response struck me as a “grow up snowflakes” response. Be “adults”. I found it disappointing I don’t know you. But I know your writings and posts very well as I read every one. You’re brilliant. I apologize for offending you. I did not intend that. I actually intended to be respectful.

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 4:37 pm
“How would you translate, “check your privilege”? I’m not Catholic, but I do recognize a guilt trip.”

Agreed. That’s a little annoying.

But let it roll off you broad shoulders, man. At this point we need solidarity. What the Republicans want most is for groups of people who are being hosed by their austerity to fight with each other and not against them!

Comment by HistProf Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 4:46 pm
College was very expensive, even in the stone of the 80s. No question it has skyrocketed since then. Like others, finding jobs in hotels or restaurants were a good way to get fed too. The minimum wage really lived up to it’s name.

No one should go hungry. If you described my family as wealthy, you sure must be referring to something other than money. Didn’t attend the college I could get into; attended the ones I could afford. That meant Community College too, which turned out to be a great asset later in life. Put all my own children through college at the schools they were accepted to and wanted to go to. They all worked some hours because the only thing I wouldn’t pay for was spending money, booze, or smokes. Bookstores didn’t sell cigarettes back in the old days. lol

I didn’t see a lot of kids going hungry when I visited campuses. But clearly they are there and I do hope they can access food.

Comment by A guy Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 5:00 pm
There are also grad students/TAs who moonlight bagging groceries to keep afloat.

I worked in college and grad school, but mostly for spending money rather than to actually feed myself. That wouldn’t be the case if I were going to school now. Not without boatloads of grant/scholarship/loans to pay for everything.

Comment by Cheryl44 Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 5:03 pm
One of the biggest scams in the USA is the constantly escalating tuition increases for higher ed. The additional money is not going for classroom costs or faculty salaries in many cases, but the administrative positions are metastasizing. It sickens me to see students saddled with debt while fat cat administrators are making out like bandits and adjuncts and grad students are teaching classes for peanuts.

Comment by Been There Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 5:08 pm
If you don’t have enough money to provide sufficient food, I suggest that you go to Blackburn University in Carlinville, IL. They will furnish you with a job and provide you with a good education.

Comment by Hickory Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 5:59 pm
Hey here’s the NPR interview. VanillaMan, I freaked out in the car because Audie Cornish asked her about the “aren’t they adults question”, and the author of the study had the most amazing answer.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/04/03/599198739/food-housing-insecurity-may-be-keeping-college-students-from-graduating

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 6:59 pm
====have credit for loan
====r can’t choose their situation is a bit much for me.

What’s a bit much for me are people who have no idea what they are talking about. I’m sure your experience in Germany is just like the students I have worked with who are not just going to school, but helping support their parents and siblings, working multiple jobs, and skipping for themselves while doing it. I mean, you got to Germany, but you were in much worse of a position than kids who have never left the town or county they live in.

These aren’t kids who are sitting around trying to figure out beer money and instead of the ridiculous scorn people throw at them, are doing everything the US asks them to do–work hard, better themselves, and help their family. Instead of making fun of them or trying to claim you had it worse, or how they chose their situation, show some compassion like a human being would.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 7:22 pm
BTW–loans for college don’t require a credit check. They are federally guaranteed and available to nearly any student. Suggesting this is a sign of wealth is a sign of the person saying it being disconnected from the reality of college students.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 7:23 pm
Any college students having to struggle with food insecurity is bad, and I am by no means minimizing the college affordability problem as a whole. Having said that, I suspect that the true percentage nationally of students going hungry is a lot less than 36%. I listened to a report on NPR driving home today in which one of the authors of this study was interviewed. The answers she gave were very scripted and well-rehearsed, activating my BS detector immediately. It was clear from the interview that not all colleges were included in the sample, and the ones that were are mostly financially poor schools and by no means representative of colleges in general. At the University of Richmond, where I teach, given the on-campus dining options and meal plans we have, I suspect the percentage of students going hungry is very close to zero.

Comment by Andy S. Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 7:38 pm
I doubt this is true.

Comment by Ron Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 8:35 pm
Unless it accounts for those not eating by choice. I think half my friends in college chose to drink or smoke over eating. I probably did a few times myself.

Comment by Ron Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 8:37 pm
Good to hear from you, Professor Andy. Been following the zaniness at UIUC?

To the Post, I don’t hear of this being a problem from my college kids. (At UIUC and SIUE) Living off campus may hide the extent of the problem.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 8:56 pm
As a college student in the 90s, I was frequently hungry. I find it obnoxious that there are so many derisive comments about blowing money on booze and overweight students. whatever the true percentage, it’s perverse that we’re talking about a sig number of people spending huge money to go to college while going without enough food in a nation with more wealth than any has ever amassed.

Comment by hexagon Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 9:05 pm
==At the University of Richmond, where I teach, given the on-campus dining options and meal plans we have, I suspect the percentage of students going hungry is very close to zero. ==

And the University of Richmond is, you feel more representative of undergraduates nation-wide?

I would suggest you dig a little deeper and not just assume. Your BS detector went off because the findings challenged your personal beliefs. If the research is correct, you might feel the need to do something about the situation. It’s much simpler to dismiss the results.

Instead of relying on your BS detector and personal suspicions, which I highly doubt you would allow any of your students to cite as a source, why not follow Honeybear’s link to the NPR story which provides a link to the research lab and the report discussed. You can read the whole report including the methodology and the list of colleges and universities that participated.

If you would like a broader survey, you could encourage your university to contact the research team and offer to participate in future research.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 9:33 pm
Lincolnland Community College found that that a large number of their students were undernurished. So a Food Bank was established, and donations sought. Among the donors are the members of the Academy of Lifelong Learning, the seniors group that is part of the Department of Community Education. I was on campus today as part of a student mentoring program that ALL started this year, and dropped out a box of fruit cups that I picked up at Sam’s.

Comment by capitol view Tuesday, Apr 3, 18 @ 11:24 pm
How many folks here are aware that there are TWO food pantries at the University of Illinois- Urbana-Champaign? The Wesley food pantry and Newman House food pantry. Both open to UIUC students and Parkland College students.

Parkland College also has a food pantry on their campus.

The sister who runs the Newman pantry does not allow ramen or Mac and cheese. She insists on high-nutrition foods for her kids.

I do believe all three of these pantries have been in existence since 2015.

Comment by Lynn S. Wednesday, Apr 4, 18 @ 3:42 am
Hello Rich,

When I was Undergrad Student Government President at UIC, we launched a food pantry in the 2014-15 academic year. Not only are students experiencing food insecurity, there are also many students who are homeless, especially international students. http://wellnesscenter.uic.edu/resources-and-services/pop-up-pantry/

Other universities across the country have launched similar efforts. It is a problem that gets ignored quite often. I am glad that more people and institutions are beginning to pay attention.

Comment by JakeCP Wednesday, Apr 4, 18 @ 8:08 am
While food pantries are helpful, they are labor intensive to maintain and unpredictable in what types of food are available. Not to mention the stigma associated with going to a food pantry, many needy students may not participate. I would suggest policy change to expand eligibility for college students to qualify with less hours worked per week. I understand there is still a stigma of applying for and receiving SNAP benefits but I am not sure why it should be considering the millions of dollars in Pell/MAP and other tuition assistance programs that are also funded through taxes. Expanding SNAP would allow students to purchase food regularly and the extra monthly amount they would receive is small compared to student loan forgiveness or other types of distribution of funds to remedy the college affordability issue. I believe it would also have a positive impact on retention.

Comment by Momof2 Wednesday, Apr 4, 18 @ 9:00 am
During the 1980s & 1990s, I watched as states shifted funding from higher ed to corrections. Today, I hear it referred to as “mass incarceration”. Then in the 2000s the priority seems to shift to tax cuts to compensate for stagnant wage growth. It’s pretty obvious where the money has gone. Income inequality is real… just like science.

I wonder what happens when old Ruppert finally kicks the bucket? Will anyone else be as good at selling the banal per-packaged circular ideologies to the banal? Or will Robert Mercer have the perfect algorithm to identify the gullible?

Comment by James Knell Monday, Apr 16, 18 @ 2:42 pm