There are 121 food banks at colleges, up from four in 2008, says a Michigan State University group in a Washington Post story that says high costs and limited funds force some students to go hungry. “And this year, Feeding America, a national hunger-relief charity, will for the first time include in its quadrennial survey a breakdown of college students seeking food assistance,” said the Post. At some colleges, the are voucher programs for meals.
Experts say student hunger rates may be much higher than the national average but there are no comprehensive data. As examples, the Post cited surveys that found 59 pct of students at Western Oregon University had recent experience with food insecurity and 21 pct at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The Agriculture Department says 14.5 pct of U.S. households were food insecure, meaning, “At times during the year, these households were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet the needs of all their members because they had insufficient money or other resources for food.”