Food insecurity is more common than students think.

Key points

39.5% of Cal Poly’s student population are food insecure, and 13.5% of all U.S. households are food insecure.
College students are an at-risk population for food insecurity, especially because tuition, rent and dining plans are becoming more expensive.
Budget cuts are causing eligibility for federal nutrition assistance to become more strict.

Kaylie Wang is an English sophomore and opinion columnist for Mustang News. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang Media Group.

Each day, students face the choice of whether to eat at Brunch or Streets at Vista Grande. Other students do not have the privilege of this choice. Individuals experiencing food insecurity may have to skip a meal because they do not have enough money or resources for food.

To some students, anxiety over food access may be invisible. However, struggles of food insecurity are highly prevalent on Cal Poly’s campus because of the rising cost of college and the stigma surrounding accessing food resources.

Nearly 40% of Cal Poly students are considered food insecure by Cal Poly’s American College Health Association’s survey from last spring, according to university spokesperson Keegan Koberl.

That means more than one in three Cal Poly students experience food insecurity or inadequate access to food.

Food insecurity cannot remain a silent struggle that students face behind closed doors. Shame continues to stop students from accessing the help that they need. We need to work together, as a community of Cal Poly and SLO, to reduce this stigma, take care of each other and make sure we all stay fed.

College students are at a higher risk of food insecurity

Food insecurity is defined as “the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food,” due to a lack of money or resources, according to Cal Poly’s Basic Needs Initiative. This can look like not eating for a full day, losing weight, running out of food but not having enough money to buy more and feeling hungry but not eating, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

College students have become an emerging at-risk population for food insecurity. This trend is visible on Cal Poly’s campus, where the food insecurity rate is nearly three times the national average of food insecurity, which was 13.5% of U.S. households in 2023.

“Food insecurity among college students statewide and nationally has been on the rise, reflecting broader economic pressures such as inflation, rising housing costs and limited access to affordable groceries,” Koberl wrote in an email to Mustang News. “What we’re seeing locally mirrors the growing needs and financial strain experienced on college campuses across the country.”

Additionally, a Cambridge study found that food-insecure college students are 42% less likely to graduate, and less than half of first-generation students experiencing food insecurity completed their degree. Cal State students who identified as Black or African American, or as a first-generation student experienced the highest rates of food insecurity at 65.9%.

If we want students to thrive and succeed at Cal Poly, we have to make sure they are fed.

The stigma around food insecurity

But it isn’t all hopeless. First-generation college students were 49% less likely to be food insecure if they were aware of campus resources.

However, an article from 2017 found that many students experiencing food insecurity experience stigma and shame every day or feel “worried that someone else needs [assistance] more than me.”

As we talk about and normalize going to the food pantry, paying for weekly groceries with CalFresh SNAP or using other assistance to get food, we work to alleviate the stigma surrounding accessing resources. I hope that opening these conversations can allow our friends, classmates and neighbors to feel worthy of using the available resources or even calling on each other to share a meal when funds are low.

Rising cost of college contributes to food insecurity

Food insecurity on college campuses has been worseni ng because the cost of college continues to rise, while financial assistance is dwindling.

Cal State’s first recommendation for alleviating students’ food insecurity is to “develop affordable housing and food options for students.” Clearly, this isn’t happening, as the required housing and dining plans are actually growing more and more expensive at Cal Poly.

Previous Mustang News reporting found that the freshman housing cost has doubled in the past decade and now costs $11,000 per academic year. Freshman dining plans are among the most expensive of any public school in California. Many items sold at Campus Dining are more expensive than those same items found at local grocery stores, with many being marked up more than 50%.

Vista Grande is one of the dining halls on campus. First-year dining plans at Cal Poly are one of the most expensive of all public universities in California. Credit: Mia Dahlgren / Mustang News

Attending college is not affordable, but federal nutrition assistance programs are also becoming less accessible for students due to budget cuts and the ongoing government shutdown. There has also been a higher demand for campus resources.

What is Cal Poly doing to prevent students from going hungry?

The food pantry, located in the lower level of Campus Health & Wellbeing, is one of Cal Poly’s main resources, which “provides immediate support through fresh produce, shelf-stable foods, frozen meals, and personal hygiene products such as soap and diapers,” according to Koberl. It is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The food pantry is restocked daily and is open for access to all students, regardless of food security status.

Eli Ziser, an interdisciplinary studies senior, estimates that he goes to the food pantry two times a week.

“I pay for my own rent and some parts of tuition and stuff, so it can be tough,” Ziser said. “I have a job, but going to the grocery store and seeing that bill sometimes of $80 or $100, it hurts. Having any opportunity to get something fresh, especially onions or potatoes, just saves you a couple bucks here and there is really helpful for my emotional, psychological and financial well-being.”

There has been a 25% increase in food pantry visits compared to last fall, and served over 80,000 student visits last school year, according to Koberl, mostly from third and fourth-year students who live off campus. The food pantry is also considered a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) serving resource because it serves a high percentage of BIPOC students.

Students are able to receive support through the meal voucher program, which adds free money (an average of $150 last year) to students’ dining plans to be used at select dining locations. The program provided over $400,000 in dining credits to more than 2,000 students last year, Koberl said.

The meal voucher program application opens each quarter, but this fall, Cal Poly Basic Needs closed applications early after receiving a significantly higher volume of applicants than last year.

The Trump administration and government shutdown are straining local and federal resources

Another financial resource is CalFresh, which is a supplemental nutrition assistance program that provides students with up to $298 a month of free money on an EBT card to use at grocery stores or farmers’ markets.

According to Koberl, Cal Poly has two contracts with CalFresh: CalFresh Outreach (helps spread awareness about CalFresh and helps students enroll) and CalFresh Healthy Living (which teaches students about nutrition, but was cut in the “One Big Beautiful Bill”). Combined, these contracts serve about 6,300 students or 28% of the student body, though Koberl estimates more are eligible.

The passing of Trump’s reconciliation bill has also made accessing CalFresh and other SNAP benefits more difficult, because half-time students are no longer eligible for food assistance, and part-time students must complete 20 hours of work a week. Mustang News previously reported that this change may prevent over 1,000 Cal Poly students and 75,000 Cuesta College students from receiving benefits.

The government shutdown delayed the delivery of November’s SNAP benefits, and the back-and-forth confusion of whether or not individuals would receive their benefits on time or in full may leave lingering anxiety and anger.

Yesenia Beltran, a business administration junior, said that the instability of November CalFresh SNAP benefits has affected her grocery shopping.

“I’ve been buying a lot less food than I would have normally and then getting less snacks,” Beltran said. “More like staple stuff that I know that will be there for me. Less chips and little drinks and more things like a big bag of rice, cans of beans, soups.”

When federal assistance may be inaccessible or unpredictable, this is all the more reason why community support needs to strengthen.

A silent struggle

Food insecurity isn’t uncommon or easily fixable. It’s unfortunately a silent struggle that many students experience.

“I think everybody kind of keeps to themselves about their food situation,” Beltran said. “I don’t think people speak openly like ‘oh I don’t have food next week,’ you know?”

If you’re struggling with food insecurity, you aren’t alone. Even if things may feel hopeless, do not hesitate to reach out to the people and services who are working hard to help you eat.

“Even though there’s a lot of changes going on, [the food pantry] is very passionate to help us out, even if the demand soars in the next couple of weeks,” Beltran said. “We’re all trying to help each other.”

Even as individual students who are not facing food insecurity, we can still help by spreading awareness, educating ourselves and removing the shame associated with receiving federal or school assistance.

If you have the time, you can help local resources by donating to or volunteering at local food banks, food drives and distribution centers.

Here is a list of the resources mentioned in this story:

Basic Needs Initiative is aimed at supporting students to access the resources needed to succeed at college, such as housing, food, transportation and healthcare, including the Cal Poly Basic Needs Report (BNR).
Cal Poly food pantry is a “no questions asked” resource open to all students for accessing free groceries and produce.
SLO Food Bank has monthly campus distributions of free groceries.
The meal voucher program provides free dining dollars.
Cal Poly Cares provides short-term financial assistance grants.
CalFresh is a supplemental nutrition assistance program that provides students with free money every month to buy food at grocery stores or farmers’ markets.