Food Insecurity on Campus: Action and Intervention

The hidden problem of student hunger on college campuses is real. Here's how colleges and universities are addressing it.

As the price of college continues to rise and the incomes of most Americans stagnate, too many college students are going hungry. According to researchers, approximately half of all undergraduates are food insecure. Food Insecurity on Campus―the first book to describe the problem―meets higher education's growing demand to tackle the pressing question "How can we end student hunger?"

Essays by a diverse set of authors, each working to address food insecurity in higher education, describe unique approaches to the topic. They also offer insights into the most promising strategies to combat student hunger, including

• utilizing research to raise awareness and enact change;
• creating campus pantries, emergency aid programs, and meal voucher initiatives to meet immediate needs;
• leveraging public benefits and nonprofit partnerships to provide additional resources;
• changing higher education systems and college cultures to better serve students; and
• drawing on student activism and administrative clout to influence federal, state, and local policies.

Arguing that practice and policy are improved when informed by research, Food Insecurity on Campus combines the power of data with detailed storytelling to illustrate current conditions. A foreword by Sara Goldrick-Rab further contextualizes the problem. Offering concrete guidance to anyone seeking to understand and support college students experiencing food insecurity, the book encourages readers to draw from the lessons learned to create a comprehensive strategy to fight student hunger.

Contributors: Talia Berday-Sacks, Denise Woods-Bevly, Katharine M. Broton, Clare L. Cady, Samuel Chu, Sarah Crawford, Cara Crowley, Rashida M. Crutchfield, James Dubick, Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Jordan Herrera, Nicole Hindes, Russell Lowery-Hart, Jennifer J. Maguire, Michael Rosen, Sabrina Sanders, Rachel Sumekh

Katharine M. Broton is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies and (by courtesy) the Department of Sociology at the University of Iowa.

Clare L. Cady is the director and cofounder of the College and University Food Bank Alliance.