College students are more likely to be food insecure compared to the average American. A recent Inside Higher Ed survey found around one in five students believe less expensive food on campus would improve their health and well-being.
The price of a college education is one of the top reasons students don’t enroll or enroll but then stop out of college. Additional costs and fees associated with being a student, then, can also impede academic success and wellness.
College students are more likely to experience food insecurity compared to the general population of the U.S., which can be due in part to a lack of resources, social stigma and students’ busy schedules, according to prior research. Food can also cost more in a college town or at on-campus dining facilities.
In a May 2024 Student Voice survey by Inside Higher Ed and Generation Lab, one in five (21 percent) respondents say making campus meal plans or food prices more affordable would be most helpful in promoting their overall well-being, out of 11 possible actions their colleges could take.
Estimates from the Education Data Initiative place the average cost of food per month for a college student at $673, with the average campus meal plan around $570 a month. This is much higher than the average American’s monthly spending on food at home in 2023, which was around $504, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
To improve students’ health and wellness, as well as support their academic endeavors, colleges and universities can create avenues for easier access to inexpensive, nutritious food. Inside Higher Ed compiled five programs and initiatives at institutions of higher ed that increase food access.
- University of California, Davis: Free food truck
The AggieEats food truck at UCD provides lunch to students each weekday at various locations around campus, and all meals are discounted or free. Students order meals via phone and can pay as much or as little as they want, no questions asked and no prequalification needed.
The initiative is one way administrators hope to address barriers to help, including the stigma around accessing basic needs resources and a lack of resources to prepare a meal for themselves.
- Anne Arundel Community College: Affordable cookbook
College food pantries can be one way to alleviate the cost of paying for food, but if students do not know how to prepare nutritious foods, that can further impact their overall health. Students at Anne Arundel Community College created a cookbook featuring recipes, many tied to their culture or heritage, that use low-cost items found in the campus food pantry as ingredients.
The initiative both encourages students to access the on-campus food pantry and provides education on different foods that don’t break the bank to make.
- Virginia Commonwealth University: Smart food pantries
Many colleges and universities are home to one or two central food pantries that provide students with dry goods, produce and sometimes refrigerated or frozen items. VCU’s campus is scattered with a dozen little pantries, which allow students to grab dry food items and snacks throughout the day as they need them.
The pantries, which are modeled off the idea of a little free library, allow students to access food without interacting with another student or staff, limits on the items they can grab and specific hours of operation.
- University of California, Irvine: Texts for free food
Event organizers often use food as an incentive to draw in attendees and participants, and students can benefit from these programs both during and after, thanks to a text-based notification system at UCI. Zot Bites texts students after catered events have completed to allow them to pick up leftovers for free, decreasing the campus’s food waste and giving students greater access to hot meals.
- Stevens Institute of Technology: Meal swipe donations
Campus dining halls often allow students to swipe their campus IDs to purchase food and, for students who may have spent more than they needed on an annual food plan, donate to their peers in need.
This spring, Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey launched a program called Feed the Flock that allows students to request up to three meal swipes three times a semester, part of the national Swipe Out Hunger initiative. Over 850 campuses around the country have joined Swipe Out Hunger’s network, helping address food insecurity through free and discounted food offerings.
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