Food Insecurity on Campus: Action and Intervention

by Katharine M. Broton (Editor), Clare L. Cady (Editor), Sara Goldrick-Rab (Foreword by)

Overview

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421437729
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	05/12/2020
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.74(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Sara Goldrick-Rab
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Katharine M. Broton and Clare L. Cady
Chapter 1. Food Insecurity in Higher Education
Katharine M. Broton
Chapter 2. If Not Us, Who? Building National Capacity to Address Student Food Insecurity through CUFBA
Clare L. Cady
Chapter 3. The American Federation of Teachers Local 212 / MATC FAST (Faculty and Students Together) Fund
Michael Rosen
Chapter 4. Channeling Student Idealism and Energy through Campus Organizing
Talia Berday-Sacks and James Dubick
Chapter 5. Student Action and Nonprofit Partnership: The Swipe Out Hunger Story
Rachel Sumekh
Chapter 6. The Trampoline of Public Benefits: Using Existing Resources to Fight Food Insecurity
Sarah Crawford and Nicole Hindes
Chapter 7. Transformational Change for Student Success: The California State University Basic Needs Initiative
Denise Woods-Bevly and Sabrina Sanders
Chapter 8. Research as a Catalyst for Positive Systemic Change
Jennifer J. Maguire and Rashida M. Crutchfield
Chapter 9. Amarillo College: Loving Your Student from Enrollment to Graduation
Russell Lowery-Hart, Cara Crowley, and Jordan Herrera
Chapter 10. Addressing Student Hunger through Policy Change: Leveraging Federal Food Benefits to Support College Completion
Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield and Samuel Chu
Conclusion
Katharine M. Broton and Clare L. Cady
Index

What People are Saying About This

John King

No student should have to choose between education and eating. Weaving together students' stories with the latest evidence, the authors paint a compelling picture of the challenges facing today's college students and, most importantly, offer concrete ideas on how to improve higher education systems and policies.

Janet Poppendieck

Everyone who wants to understand what is driving food insecurity among college students and what to do about it should read this book. It provides useful, practical information on a wide variety of approaches to making sure that students' basic needs are met so that they can concentrate on their studies and complete their degrees.

Paul Attewell

Only in the last few years has the public (and many university administrators) become aware of the fact that substantial numbers of undergraduates are so financially stressed that they face food insecurity: skipping meals, eating cheap and sometimes non-nutritious food to save money, and enduring hunger on a frequent basis. Broton, Cady, and their colleagues deserve great credit for documenting this phenomenon and successfully publicizing the issue.

Pam Y. Eddinger

An incisive history and primer on campus hunger! Punctuated by student voices and research data that defy the myth of the care-free undergrad, each chapter reveals the real struggles and aspirations of non-traditional students in poverty. Recommendations on local action and national policies are must-reads for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.

From the Publisher

The publication of this edited volume on the issues and solutions surrounding food insecurity on college campuses comes at a critical time. Showcasing a wide range of programs and solutions to food insecurity among college students, this completely original book is the first of its kind. University administrators, student services personnel, faculty, and policymakers need this book.
—Lisa Henry, University of North Texas

Only in the last few years has the public (and many university administrators) become aware of the fact that substantial numbers of undergraduates are so financially stressed that they face food insecurity: skipping meals, eating cheap and sometimes non-nutritious food to save money, and enduring hunger on a frequent basis. Broton, Cady, and their colleagues deserve great credit for documenting this phenomenon and successfully publicizing the issue.
—Paul Attewell, City University of New York, coeditor of Growing Gaps: Educational Inequality around the World

An incisive history and primer on campus hunger! Punctuated by student voices and research data that defy the myth of the care-free undergrad, each chapter reveals the real struggles and aspirations of non-traditional students in poverty. Recommendations on local action and national policies are must-reads for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.
—Pam Y. Eddinger, President, Bunker Hill Community College

As colleges and universities focus on closing persistent attainment gaps and increasing degree completion rates for all students, they must address the fact that food insecurity is a significant barrier to student success. This book is a critical resource and call to action for campus leaders confronting this growing campus reality.
—Kevin Kruger, President, NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education

No student should have to choose between education and eating. Weaving together students' stories with the latest evidence, the authors paint a compelling picture of the challenges facing today's college students and, most importantly, offer concrete ideas on how to improve higher education systems and policies.
—John King, Jr., President/CEO, The Education Trust

Everyone who wants to understand what is driving food insecurity among college students and what to do about it should read this book. It provides useful, practical information on a wide variety of approaches to making sure that students' basic needs are met so that they can concentrate on their studies and complete their degrees.
—Janet Poppendieck, City University of New York Urban Food Policy Institute, author of Sweet Charity? Emergency Food and the End of Entitlement

This book highlights critical stories of students in need, as well as successful strategies for mitigating the basic needs crisis, in a way that accurately portrays the importance of student voices in creating effective change on college campuses. It explores real situations, real issues, and real solutions.
—Michael Wiafe, President, California State Student Association

Kevin Kruger

As colleges and universities focus on closing persistent attainment gaps and increasing degree completion rates for all students, they must address the fact that food insecurity is a significant barrier to student success. This book is a critical resource and call to action for campus leaders confronting this growing campus reality.

Michael Wiafe

This book highlights critical stories of students in need, as well as successful strategies for mitigating the basic needs crisis, in a way that accurately portrays the importance of student voices in creating effective change on college campuses. It explores real situations, real issues, and real solutions.

Lisa Henry

The publication of this edited volume on the issues and solutions surrounding food insecurity on college campuses comes at a critical time. Showcasing a wide range of programs and solutions to food insecurity among college students, this completely original book is the first of its kind. University administrators, student services personnel, faculty, and policymakers need this book.