2024 College Hunger Summits
College should be a time where students are able to explore their interests and improve their prospects for obtaining a living-wage career, but for too many students in Washington, hunger and food insecurity interfere with their ability to make the most of their education.
According to a 2022 study by the Washington Student Achievement Council and Western Washington University, almost half of all post-secondary students in Washington experience basic needs insecurity. 38.3% of students reported experiencing food insecurity in the 30 days leading up to the survey – almost four times the rate of the general population. This means that many students are having to make tradeoffs between buying food and other expenses like rent, textbooks, and medical bills.
Paradoxically, college students also face higher barriers to accessing food support programs. To receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), college students must meet certain exemptions such as working more than part time or being a parent – requirements that do not apply to non-students. Food pantries in the community can also be hard for students to access, as they’re often located in inconvenient locations and open during hours when students are in class or working.
Last month, United Way of King County hosted two College Hunger Summits, bringing together college stakeholders and food system partners to share best practices for supporting food insecure students. Hosted in Yakima and Tacoma, UWKC was joined at these summits by over 130 attendees and supported by the Washington Student Association, the Washington Student Achievement Council, the Post-Secondary Basic Needs Coalition, and the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges.
Each summit was opened by a state representative who has been instrumental in advancing student basic needs legislation in Washington.
Each summit was kicked off with a keynote by a state representative: Representative Debra Entenman started the conversation in Tacoma, and Representative Marcus Riccelli spoke to attendees at the Yakima summit. Both leaders have been instrumental in advancing student basic needs legislation in Washington and spoke about their past work as well as the work that still needs to be done.
The summits’ morning sessions focused on best practices for campus food pantries. Partners including Central Washington University, FISH Food Bank, GoodRoots Northwest, and Nourish Pierce County spoke about their organizations’ innovative approaches to providing food for students, from pursuing state funding to providing mobile pantries and temperature-controlled food lockers.
In the afternoon, summit participants learned about strategies for helping students enroll in SNAP, such as embedding a screening tool in the class enrollment process, conducted targeted outreach to likely-eligible student populations, and providing one-on-one support to students throughout the application process.
Attendees included partners from food system organizations and colleges across the state, providing a unique opportunity for collaboration on student food security.
Breakout sessions throughout each day gave attendees an opportunity to build relationships, connect over aligned goals, and strategize on common challenges. Many new partnerships were formed - for example, several campuses connected with representatives for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, making arrangements to offer mobile services to parenting students on campus.
The summits closed with a call to action, including presentations by the Washington Student Association and the Post-Secondary Basic Needs Coalition on their respective legislative agendas and ways to get involved in advocacy efforts for the 2025 legislative session.
Ultimately, the College Hunger Summits provided an opportunity for dozens of colleges, food system stakeholders, and anti-hunger advocates to meet and learn from one another. These connections, along with the information shared by United Way of King County and its partners, will help to expand the supports available to college students across the state so that no one in Washington has to choose between food and higher education.