Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) introduced the Student Food Security Act of 2024, bicameral legislation to address food insecurity faced by college students nationwide. Representatives Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.-05) and Norma Torres (D-Calif.-35) are leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

According to a recent survey, nearly 40 percent of community college students are food insecure, over half are housing insecure, and 18 percent have experienced homelessness. These factors negatively impact student success and graduation rates.

The Student Food Security Act would support food-insecure students by expanding eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), allowing students to use SNAP benefits at on-campus dining facilities, increasing outreach by federal and state agencies to food-insecure students, and establishing an annual grant program to aid colleges and universities in better identifying and serving students with their basic needs. The bill includes key provisions from Senator Padilla’s BASIC Act, bicameral legislation to ensure college students are able to meet their basic needs while pursuing their education.

“College students shouldn’t have to choose between buying their textbooks or affording their next meal,” said Senator Padilla. “Permanently expanding nutritional assistance and access to basic needs for college students is vital to ensuring young people juggling work, family life, and financial insecurity can still succeed in higher education.”

“Students shouldn’t have to go to class hungry. As the costs of college continue to rise, far too many students are left struggling to meet their basic needs,” said Senator Warren. “This bill will ensure that college students are not forced to decide between paying tuition and putting food on the table.”

“Students aren’t learning when they’re missing meals or living without stable housing,” said Senator Murphy. “Too often, college students, many of whom are also working or supporting a family, can’t pay rent or have to skip meals because they are trying to make ends meet while paying thousands for tuition and textbooks every semester. If we want these students to succeed, it’s on us to make sure they have the basics to do so. Our legislation would expand SNAP eligibility requirements and help universities better address food and housing insecurity so students can focus on their education without having to making these unfair sacrifices.”

“Getting a degree should be a chance to build a better future, not struggle for survival,” said Senator Fetterman. “But for too many college students — especially those attending community colleges and minority-serving institutions — worrying about their next meal is part of everyday life. This bill is about making sure no student has to choose between feeding themselves and getting an education. By expanding SNAP and giving colleges more tools to support their students, we’re investing in a stronger future for our young people and our country.”

“For too long, students at colleges and universities have suffered food insecurity without proper support from federal and state governments. As we work to end hunger, it is crucial we invest in programs that provide college students with access to healthy, nutritious meals so they can succeed in the classroom and beyond,” said Representative Hayes. “College students in my district and nationwide have asked for our help, and it is time we delivered. The Student Food Security Act is a comprehensive proposal to address food insecurity among college students by expanding access to SNAP, investing in outreach programs to meet students where they are, and investing $1 billion annually to ensure colleges and universities have the tools they need to help house and feed students in need.”

“Students should be able to focus on their education without constantly making tough choices between the costs of housing, food, healthcare, or their education. As college expenses continue to rise, it is disheartening to see the sacrifices students are making, including going hungry or homeless, just to go to college. The Student Food Security Act will confront the issue of hunger among college students by broadening federal food assistance eligibility, establishing a grant program to support students with institution-driven programs, and instructing the Department of Education to gather data on food and housing insecurity,” said Representative Torres. “As a mother and grandmother, this is personal for me and that’s why I created a federal funding stream that has already delivered over $29 million to help colleges address student hunger. I want to see more students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, receive these benefits and aspire to seek higher education and that’s exactly what this bill will do.”

Typically, college students face severe restrictions on their ability to access and use SNAP benefits unless they meet certain conditions, such as working more than 20 hours per week or having young children. This barrier ignores the reality of the college student population, a majority of whom are “non-traditional” — students older than 25 and independent from their parents who are often juggling school, work, and family responsibilities. A Government Accountability Office report also found almost 60 percent of potentially eligible students were not enrolled in SNAP, highlighting how current eligibility requirements are leaving food-insecure students behind.

Specifically, the Student Food Security Act:

• Increases the SNAP eligibility of low-income college students by expanding access to students who qualify for work study, have a $0 Student Aid Index, meet the financial eligibility criteria for a maximum Pell Grant (even if they have not filed the FAFSA), or are an independent student whose household is otherwise eligible. This would make permanent an expansion of SNAP eligibility that was first enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Increases outreach to eligible students by directing the U.S. Department of Education to work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and other relevant agencies to notify students they may be eligible for benefits when they file their application for federal student aid.

• Requires the Department of Education to collect data on food and housing insecurity.

• Creates a SNAP student hunger demonstration program to allow students to use their SNAP benefits at on-campus dining facilities at up to ten institutions.

• Establishes a $1 billion per year grant program to help institutions of higher education identify and meet the basic needs of their students, such as food, housing, childcare, etc. Grants can be used for research, planning, and implementation of strategies which educate students on federal, state, local, and tribal assistance programs. Institutions with increased numbers of Pell Grant recipients will be prioritized. At least 25 percent of grants must go to community colleges, and at least 25 percent must go to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities, and other Minority-Serving Institutions.

Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) are cosponsoring the bill.

The Student Food Security Act has been endorsed by The Hope Center at Temple University; Alliance to End Hunger; National Education Association (NEA); American Federation of Teachers; Center for Science in the Public Interest; Feeding America; Bread for the World; National Center on Housing and Child Welfare; Hunger Free America; the Education Trust; Institute for Higher Education Policy; MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger; Food Research and Action Center (FRAC); Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS); New America Higher Education Program; SchoolHouse Connection; Swipe Out Hunger; New Mexico Basic Needs Consortium; Nourish Colorado; Nourish California; Connecticut Foodshare; End Hunger CT!; Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon; Greater Boston Food Bank; Gather, Respect, Advocate, Change, Engage (GRACE)/End Child Poverty California; Oregon Student Association; Massachusetts Hunger Free Campus Coalition; Hildreth Institute; One Family; The Open Door; uAspire; Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County; Hunger Free Vermont; Food for People; New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG) Students; William E. Morris Institute for Justice; California Association of Food Banks; Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges; Project Bread; Massachusetts Law Reform Institute; Basic Needs Oregon; Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP); Food Bank of Western Massachusetts; Los Angeles Regional Food Bank; Massachusetts Student Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG) Students; River City Food Bank; Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services; San Diego Hunger Coalition; American Council on Education (ACE); Vermont Foodbank; Young Invincibles; National College Attainment Network; California Competes; Alchemist Community Development Corporation; The Center for Higher Education Policy and Practice at Southern New Hampshire University; Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities; National Women’s Law Center; National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities; California Community Colleges; Linn-Benton Community College; Portland Community College; University of California; University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources; University of California Irvine; University of California Santa Cruz; and all 15 Massachusetts community colleges.

Senator Padilla has consistently advocated on behalf of students to increase access to higher education. He has led numerous letters urging President Biden to provide meaningful student debt cancellation, along with multiple letters urging U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to leverage his authority under the Higher Education Act to provide expanded student debt relief to working and middle-class borrowers. Earlier this year, Padilla hosted a webinar to encourage all eligible students across California, including those from mixed status families, to apply for federal and state financial aid. He also led a letter with 25 Senate co-signers to urge Secretary Cardona to address the FAFSA form error that prevents students with contributors, including parents and spouses, who do not have a Social Security Number from completing the new FAFSA form.

Previously, Padilla cosponsored the College for All Act to make college tuition-free and debt-free for working families and introduced the Basic Assistance for Students in College (BASIC) Act to help college students meet their basic needs while pursuing their education. He also cosponsored the Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act, bicameral legislation that would nearly double the Pell Grant maximum award, index the maximum award for inflation, and expand the program to include Dreamers.

A one-pager on the Student Food Security Act is available here.

Full text of the bill is available here.

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