‘Hungry and Homeless in College’ study says two-thirds of community college students lack proper nutrition
Press Release – PHILADELPHIA, March 15 – The nonprofit organization Challah for Hunger today voiced serious concern over a ‘troubling’ new report that says as many as two-thirds of community college students in the United States suffer from food insecurity – meaning they cannot afford proper nutrition – and urged Congress to step in.
“We are alarmed and extremely concerned by the troubling finding that two out of three community college students do not have access to basic nutritional food,” said Challah for Hunger CEO Carly Zimmerman. “Food insecurity and hunger on college campuses in general is a growing problem hiding in plain sight.”
Challah for Hunger’s Zimmerman was responding to a new report released today, “Hungry and Homeless in College: March 2017 Results From a National Study of Basic Needs Insecurity in Higher Education,” by the Wisconsin Hope Lab and the Association of Community College Trustees, that found nearly two in three of 33,000 community college students at 70 campuses in 24 states either could not afford nutritious food or were forced to rely on socially unacceptable ways to secure healthy food (see the study here: http://wihopelab.com/publications/hungry-and-homeless-in-college-report.pdf).
Pointing to today’s study and a recent survey that 48 percent of students at all types of colleges reported experience food insecurity, Challah for Hunger today also urged the Government Accountability Office (GAO) – the investigative arm of Congress – to launch a comprehensive national study of food insecurity on college campuses, and offered its support for the undertaking.
In a letter to the GAO (https://www.docdroid.net/uKr3O6k/letter-gao-031517.pdf.html), Challah for Hunger applauded a recent call by Senators Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Patty Murray D-Wash., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., for a comprehensive report on food insecurity at American colleges and universities.
“As an organization that works directly with college students to address hunger nationally and locally, we believe that no one should have to sacrifice food for an education,” the Challah for Hunger letter said to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, the head of the GAO. “We stand ready to offer our insight into this issue gained from over a decade of experience working hand-in-hand with campus professionals and student advocates. “
Challah for Hunger has been working on campuses for over a decade to raise money to combat hunger by baking and selling challah, the braided bread traditionally eaten on the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat). Challah for Hunger’s network extends to 80 campuses in 30 states.
In partnership with MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, Challah for Hunger recently began training student advocates on nearly 40 public and private colleges and universities to research food insecurity at their schools and to educate their peers about the issue.
About Challah for Hunger:
Challah for Hunger is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization that involves more than 7,000 youth annually in activism and advocacy for social justice through 82 student-led, college-based chapters in 30 U.S. states, the U.K. and Australia. Volunteers gather to bake and sell challah, traditional Jewish bread eaten on the Sabbath and on holidays. Fifty percent of its profits are donated to anti-hunger organizations in each chapter’s community, while the other half goes towards Challah for Hunger’s national and philanthropic education partner, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. To date, Challah for Hunger has raised and donated over $1 million to these causes. For more information about Challah for Hunger, please visit: challahforhunger.org.
