Rep. Adam Schiff introduced the Food for Thought Act, which would create a demonstration program to make grants available to community colleges so they can provide free meals to food-insecure students. The program would be administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) within the United States Dept. of Agriculture.

“Community colleges play an essential role in providing a first class education and giving all Americans the tools to succeed,” said Rep. Schiff. “Yet financial aid often falls short, and the associated costs of pursuing higher education can be overwhelming. These costs include textbooks, school supplies, housing, transportation, and the most basic of needs: food. After hearing from community colleges in my area about the number of their students who depended on campus food banks to meet basic needs, I believe we must act. Establishing a free meal program for students in need would eliminate a major barrier to graduation and future success.”

Students suffering from food insecurity face academic, financial and health challenges. A recent study found nearly 45% of community college students report some degree of food insecurity, with significant percentages of community college students skipping some meals because they cannot afford to buy food. Hunger can force students to make difficult decisions that affect their academic success, such as missing classes or dropping out of school to work more.

The Food for Thought Act would authorize FNS to make grants available for community college campuses to establish a free meal program for eligible students, conduct campus outreach, prepare and/or purchase meals from vendors, and provide information to participating students on eligibility for federal food assistance programs. Grants would be awarded to an assortment of community colleges, reflecting varying student body size; full-time student enrollment; geographic location; and residential character, including race/ethnicity make-up and socioeconomic status.

FNS, in consultation with state education agencies and community colleges, would provide technical assistance to grantees, which includes general program administration, training college employees to manage the program, developing student outreach materials, and, as applicable, developing prepared food infrastructure. Grantees would be directed to collect and share data on the prevalence of food insecurity on their campuses and an evaluation of the use of grant funding in addressing such food insecurity to be used for the development of recommendations to expand the program nationwide.

This legislation is endorsed by the Los Angeles Community College District, Pasadena City College, Glendale Community College, the Community College League of California, the American Association of Community Colleges, Swipe Out Hunger and the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice.