College students may lose food stamp benefits as pandemic relief programs end.

Imagine having to go to class with an empty stomach day after day. For many college students, this is a reality that could become even more widespread as the COVID-19 pandemic relief program for SNAP food stamps comes to an end.

According to The Associated Press, researchers and policymakers have found that at least 30% of college students are food insecure. This means that nearly three million students were dependent on the SNAP program when the U.S. Department of Agriculture relaxed eligibility requirements during the pandemic.

Unfortunately, the program is set to return to pre-pandemic rules after June 30th, 2023. MacGregor Obergfell, assistant director of governmental affairs at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, said, “In the next couple of months, potentially thousands of college students could be losing access to this program. It's going to be coming in waves.”

Bryce McKibben, senior director of policy and advocacy at Temple University’s Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, further commented, “It kind of starts this slow-rolling disaster where we’re reverting to the old SNAP rules right at a time where obviously the need around food security is only going up.”

For some, it has become a struggle to choose between paying rent and buying food for the week. Swipe Out Hunger, a leading nonprofit committed to ending college student hunger, warned of an incoming spike in student need as some will face being dropped from SNAP eligibility and turn toward food pantries.

“Traffic at food banks and pantries is already increasing as states end their emergency SNAP benefits early,” Swipe Out Hunger said. “When these emergency benefits end federally, be prepared to see a similar rise in student need at campus pantries and other on-campus hunger solutions programs.”

The outlook for college students facing food insecurity is bleak. SNAP food stamps regulations returning to pre-pandemic rules after the close of its COVID-19 pandemic relief program could mean even more students struggling to make ends meet. Unfortunately, it looks like the number of starving students on college campuses may rise even further.

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