Unmet Needs: Campus Support for Community College Students in Need of Food and Housing Assistance (2025)
Nearly 1 in 4 community college students experience food insecurity, and 1 in 13 experience homelessness; however, little is known about the extent to which institutions support them. Using community-based participatory research and data from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement, we found that the majority of students in need of assistance did not receive food and/or housing support from their institution. Multilevel model results indicate that receipt of assistance varies across student and institutional characteristics. Compared with their majority peers, students who used disability services and Students of Color were more likely to have received support, while gender non-conforming students and those with lower levels of food security were less likely to have received help. Institutional size and gender make-up were also related to the likelihood of students reporting receipt of assistance. This study highlights the current limitations of campus supports for basic needs insecurity and provides insights for scholar-practitioners seeking to improve program implementation.
