Addressing Food Insecurity by Expanding the National School Lunch Program to College

Addressing Food Insecurity by Expanding the

National School Lunch Program to College
MPH Position Paper

Janelle Bayona, Marissa Cruz & Keely

HSCI 611
Niemeyer
Addressing Food Insecurity by Expanding the National School Lunch Program to College 1

Problem:
Imagine you are sitting in your late night college course after a really long and
difficult day at work. You try with everything you have to overcome exhaustion and
remember that you have not had anything to eat all day. Instead of listening to the lecture
that is important for you to understand and pass the next exam, you begin to wonder how
and when you can afford food. You contemplate hours worked, housing costs,
transportation costs, utilities, school fees you owe, that expensive book you need to buy and
suddenly you determine that you cannot find enough wiggle room to buy food. This is an
issue known as food insecurity, and it happens more often than one might think in the
United States. According to Goldrick-Rab, et al., (1), more than 50% of college students
suffer from some degree of food insecurity (chart 2). Looking at the California State
University system alone, one in five students suffer from food insecurity (2). Food
assistance programs are available to those below the poverty threshold. However, the
poverty threshold does not take into account added costs involved with college. Due to
inflated college tuition fees, the percent of cost coverage through grants and cash assistance
programs decreased by 47% in the past eight years (chart 1) (1). Additionally, 75% of
college students rely on external jobs while attending school to support the added costs (1).
Students who work through college often struggle with academic success when financial
burdens collide with the need to study. Even with financial aid, grants, working, and
participating in campus dining programs, college students struggle with food insecurity (3).

Food insecurity can lead to less desirable food choices that increase the risk for chronic
diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, and cardiovascular disease (4). Research shows
that college students are at a higher risk for weight gain related to the development of poor diet
choices (4). Additionally, college students are faced with higher stress levels related to studies
and determining when their next meal will be. One study discovered that high levels of stress and
time spent at universities contributed to a rise in BMI (5).
The profound effect of food insecurity among college students is that academic success
suffers. According to Dubick (6), more than half of college students did not purchase textbooks
or missed class due to hunger, and 25% dropped classes (chart 3). When students are focused on
when or how they will get their next meal, academics lose priority and success becomes
increasingly difficult. Food insecurity at college level is an issue that cannot be ignored.
Addressing college food insecurity can be accomplished through expanding of the National
School Lunch Program (NSLP) to provide one meal voucher daily to students who fall
below the poverty threshold after college fees are accounted for.
The proposed solution:
We need to implement the NSLP extension by providing food vouchers to the students
enrolled at California State Universities to help alleviate the hunger of food insecure students.
The goal is that universities will provide vouchers for one meal daily, Monday through Friday,
and the college cafeteria hours should coincide with academic schedules to meet late night
demands for food. Eligibility requirements are the following: [1] Students must be currently
enrolled at California State University with documentation of housing costs, utilities,
transportation, and current income to compare with school fees. This will help determine if the
student is pushed into the poverty threshold when all additional fees are accounted for. If the
student reaches the poverty level with additional fees, then he or she will qualify for the extended
NSLP vouchers. [2] The student must be an undergraduate student, and [3] must be a part-time or
full-time student with a valid school ID to receive food. If this process is successful, our hope is
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college students will no longer endure social vulnerability of food insecurity from tuition
inflation and other costs related to school.
The groundwork for carrying out the NSLP in college institutions predicts improved
grades, better attendance, and higher graduation rates (1). Legislation needs to extend the NSLP
to college students that may not meet the poverty threshold, but with added fees and inflated
tuition cannot purchase nutritious foods on a regular basis. To accomplish this the US
Department of Education along with The US Department of Agriculture needs to expand the
NSLP to college students. An allocation of food resources not used in the K-12 school systems
can be redirected to California State Universities. Additionally, California needs to implement
policies and laws to ensure the extended NSLP is assisting college students obtain nutritious
meals throughout the week.
Argument Against:
Several arguments can be made against extending the NSLP to higher education. Those
enrolled in the college level are considered adults and thus, if there is a prevalence of food
insecurity, external government programs, such as SNAP and CalFresh can be utilized as primary
options for food assistance, therefore an additional extension of the NSLP might result in an
overlap of utilization for food assistance. Federal funds for universities are primarily focused on
areas such as research grants and other forms of academia, as opposed to funds aimed at food
security issues. Consequently, an extension of the NSLP would likely require the campus itself to
fund the lunch program to its students. Therefore, it can also be argued by the campuses that
there is simply not enough budget to extend the NSLP to college students and may actually
require additional federal funds that are currently used to support tuition needs. If additional
federal funds are required, it is possible that the states will be obligated to pay more in tax dollars
to the government in order to support the extension of the NSLP. Finally, it can be argued that
unhealthy options would be chosen by college students anyway, therefore hindering the
effectiveness of the NSLP providing healthy foods.
Conclusion:
There is a dual perspective on whether colleges should or should not extend the NSLP.
One perspective considers college students as adults that may already have access to food
security support systems. The other perspective is, as a society our college system is set up for
revenue rather than an institution to prevent food insecurity. Stigmas of college students
practicing poor health behaviors are not by choice, but by income level and education.
Prioritizing the needs of implementing a secure food society among our college students can be a
rewarding process long term when food security has been shown to improve attendance and
academic scores in K-12 students. An extension of the NSLP to college will help college students
feel less hungry and focus on their studies to complete school and reach their career goals. As
members of society, we need to do something about the health disparities of our college students
trying to thrive in a food insecure environment.
 Addressing Food Insecurity by Expanding the National School Lunch Program to College 3

References:
1. Goldrick-Rab, S., Broton, K., Colo, E.B. (2016). Why the time is right to expand the national
school lunch program to higher education. Wisconsin Hope Lab.
2. Fairley, B. (2016). Food and housing need. The Den. Personal Correspondence.
http://www.calstate.edu/acadaff/foodsecurity.shtml
3. Preidt, R. (2016). Hunger is surprisingly a common problem among U.S. college students.
Health Day.
4. Brown, O.N., Oconnor, L.E., Savaiano, D. (2014). Mobile myplate: A pilot study using text
messaging to provide nutrition education and promote better dietary choices in college students.
Journal of American College Health (62)5.
5. Osborn, J., Naquin, M., Gillan, W., Bowers, A. (2016). The impact of weight perception on the
health behaviors of college students. American Journal of Health Education.
doi:10.1080/19325037.2016.1204966
6. Dubick, J., Mathews, B., Cady, C. (2016). Report: Hunger on campus. National Student
Campaign Against hunger and Homelessness.
7. Funding Down, Tuition Up. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2016, from
http://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/funding-down-tuition-up
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Appendix :