This report describes program implementation and impact of one of the nation’s first food
scholarship programs: the Houston Food Scholarship (HFS), a partnership between Houston
Community College and the Houston Food Bank. The food scholarship was first distributed in
January 2018, and this report examines its early stages, as well as rigorously estimating impacts
through spring 2019.
• This is the first-ever national survey of campus food pantries,
with 262 participating institutions, 217 of which currently
operate pantries.
• Most campus pantries have a designated space on campus,
serve exclusively the on-campus community, and are run by
staff, students, and faculty.
• Very few campus pantries have sizable budgets, but most
employ some paid staff, often undergraduate or graduate
students, and volunteers provide additional support.
• Awareness of campus pantries may be limited because
common outreach strategies are informal, but barriers to
support are low—just 5% of campus pantries require proof
of financial need.
• The most common challenges faced by camp
AACRAO partnered with The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice at Temple
University on the March 2020 survey. The Hope Center recently released the
results of the 5th annual #RealCollege survey of students’ experiences with food and housing
insecurity; it demonstrates widespread food and housing insecurity at more than 400 colleges
and universities using data from more than 330,000 students.
The results of this survey help expand the understanding of the scope of services available at
institutions of higher education to help students meet their basic needs around food and
housing. In addition, the data include estimates of percentage of students impacted by these
issues and the degree to which the issue is part of a student success agenda. The survey was
completed by 469 institutions of various sizes, types, control and location.
The data were cleaned to leave only one response per institution.
The persistently low college attainment rates of youth from poor families are partly attributable to their uncertainty about college affordability. The current federal financial aid system does not provide specific information about college costs until just before college enrollment and the information is only available to students completing a complex application. Evidence suggests this late timing reduces their motivation and ability to adequately prepare for college. This paper evaluates the fiscal consequences of instead making an early commitment of the full Pell Grant to eighth graders from needy families, using a simplified eligibility process. Analyses conducted using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics suggest the predicted costs are low relative to the benefits estimated using prior research findings. A simulation of the estimated fiscal effects indicates that Pell program costs would grow by approximately $1.5 billion annually and the benefits would exceed the costs by approximately $600 million.
#RealCollege Survey Results- Fall 2017
First #RealCollege survey report- more than 4,000 undergraduates at 10 community colleges across the nation, half of all community college students are struggling with food and/or housing insecurity. Fully 20 percent are hungry and 13 percent are homeless.