College students face food insecurity as SNAP delays drag on

College food pantries step in to fill void left by SNAP delays

Several Bay Area colleges have food pantries for students, including Santa Clara University, San Jose State University, Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled Thursday that the Trump administration must fund SNAP benefits by Friday. Now, millions of American families are waiting to see if food assistance will be available this month.

Court ruling

The delayed payments are leaving millions of Americans wondering how they will put food on their tables during the government shutdown. Many of them wonder if Thursday’s ruling to fund SNAP will be enough.

A political expert tells KTVU a payout by Friday is unlikely.

"I think they are likely to continue to push back in the legal arena but also slow walk their compliance…because to admit defeat is not something the Trump administration does," Melissa Michelson, a political scientist and professor at Menlo College tells KTVU.

Food insecure college students

While food insecurity is often seen through the lens of families or homeless communities, another group faces the struggle at extremely high rates: college students.

Roughly one quarter of college students struggle with food insecurity. Though millions would qualify for snap benefits, many don’t even know they could apply.

Sophia and her sister Emely attend SJSU. They say food has been top of mind for many students lately.

"It sucks because most people are living paycheck to paycheck, and we’ve had to help each other out with groceries," Sophia said. "EBT helps, but I never got accepted, and now I can’t call because they’re shut down."

"SJSU cares has been really stepping up," Emely told KTVU. SJSU Cares is an organization on campus that supports students with food or housing insecurity.

Michelson says she sees the concerns about food access on her Menlo College campus too.

"We already see the food insecurity in our students and so whether their family loses their SNAP benefits or they personally lose their SNAP benefits, we’re gonna see that exacerbated," she told KTVU.

Several other Bay Area colleges have food pantries for students including Santa Clara University, San Jose State University, Stanford and University of California, Berkeley.

Sophia says she's needed the help.

"From the food pantry I got tuna, corn and then potatoes and I made a tuna salad. It tasted pretty good," Sophia said.

While colleges step in to fill the void, local food pantries are also seeing client numbers rise this week.

Food pantry volunteers

James Moore has worked with South Valley Fish Food Pantry in San Jose for seven years. He says this is one of the toughest times the organization has faced.

"One day nothing, the next day partial, the next day a judge saying you have to provide all of it," Moore tells KTVU. "We have been doing a little over 100 families a week. Today we have 143."

Moore says the food pantry has not had to turn anyone away, but that is a looming fear as the shutdown drags on.

"There’s some anxiety here about how much of the need we can fill," Moore said.

Sophia says she knows times are tough, but everyone deserves to eat.

"We shouldn’t have to be scraping for scraps," Sophia said.

Michelson says people seeing their neighbors suffer from hunger, especially ahead of the holidays, will keep this time of need in the spotlight.

"We haven’t seen long breadlines and hunger in America on a big scale since the Great Depression, so 100 years later we’ve all gotten used to the idea that there is food…there are these programs to help people," Michelson said. "Right now, to have a spike in food insecurity is pretty striking."

A legal battle over this ruling is already on the horizon. The Trump administration filed a motion Thursday to appeal that Rhode Island federal judge’s ruling.

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