Thirty-six percent of college students are experiencing food insecurity, according to a reportby Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab.
Researchers surveyed 66 colleges and universities to get the statistic that food writer Corby Kummer calls “stunning.”
“Many of the low-income students [have] been successfully recruited to attend college, which is great,” he said. “But then how do they survive and deal when they’re there?”
Kummer said he was aware of the stresses experienced by low-income college students, but the challenge of food insecurity came as a surprise.
“There are often a lot of family pressures to return students to help work to support the family, but I’d never seen what programs are available to help students eat once they’re there [to] be able to study and it's heartbreaking,” said Kummer.
He compared the issue to a similar one experienced by younger students, many of whom struggle in school without subsidized meals.
“They can’t concentrate on their studies,” he said, “because they don’t have enough to eat.”
Food writer Corby Kummer is a senior editor at The Atlantic, a columnist at The New Republic and restaurant critic. To listen to his interview in its entirety, click on the audio player above.
