Warren introduces bill targeted at food insecurity on college campuses

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Al Lawson (D-Fla.) introduced legislation Wednesday to tackle food insecurity on college campuses.

The College Student Hunger Act would enable more low-income college students to access the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and increase awareness of the program.

{mosads}“As more and more students struggle to afford college and take on a mountain of student loan debt, nearly one-in-three college students cannot even afford basic necessities like food,” Warren, a presidential candidate, said in a statement. 

“Our bill will ensure students have the support they need to work toward a better future without going hungry.”

One of the bill’s co-sponsors is Warren’s fellow White House hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).

The bill addresses concerns raised by a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released earlier this year which found that more than 30 percent of college students may face food insecurity.

Additionally, almost 2 million at-risk students who are potentially eligible for SNAP did not receive benefits in 2016.

A survey by Temple University released in May confirmed concerns over college students’ access to food.

Forty-five percent of the nearly 86,000 two- and four-year college students surveyed said they’d experienced “limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food, or the ability to acquire such food in a socially acceptable manner” in the 30 days before being surveyed.

Food insecurity at colleges has garnered more attention as scrutiny of the overall cost of college has grown.

One of the many 2020 hopefuls to address the cost of college, Warren has proposed a higher education reform plan that would cancel nearly all student loan debt and create universal free public college.

Harris has backed bills from presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) aimed at reducing the costs of higher education.