Federal Grant Will Combat Food Insecurity on Massachusetts College Campuses

• The multi-year grants are part of the Community College Campus Hunger Program and funded through the American Rescue Plan Act.
• The colleges plan to expand transportation services to help students get to grocery stores and farmers’ markets, as well as working with local nonprofits to combat on-campus food insecurity.
• An estimated 600 students will be served by the grant funding annually.

Two Massachusetts colleges are partnering to use $180,000 in federal funding to combat hunger on their respective campuses.

The multi-year grants are funded through the American Rescue Plan Act and administered by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education's Community College Campus Hunger Program. The money will support an estimated 600 students annually at the Berkshire Community College and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, according to a press release.

“Food insecurity disproportionately impacts students of color and low-income students,” Berkshire Community College President Ellen Kennedy said in the release. “This generous grant allows us to address the serious issue of hunger head-on by identifying need, taking active steps to alleviate the problem and allowing our students to thrive without the added pressures of food insecurity.

The two colleges, both located in rural Berkshire County in far western Massachusetts, plan to hire a shared, full-time “Student Services Navigator” to ensure sustainable food pantries and food security programs at both campuses.

The colleges plan to expand transportation services to help students get to grocery stores and farmers’ markets, as well as working with local nonprofits to combat on-campus food insecurity. Both schools will purchase additional meal swipes to help students who weren’t previously able to afford a meal plan.

The grants will also go toward education for students, including financial literacy workshops, nutrition and cooking classes. Staff will also receive annual training on what resources are available to address food insecurity.

Many community colleges do more than just provide an education to their students: They often also serve as critical lifelines to cut back on food insecurity and other basic needs insecurities for their students and communities, BestColleges previously reported.

But many community college students still struggle with basic needs insecurity, and many don’t get help from their community college. BestColleges previously reported that the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) found that 16% of students who responded to a spring 2021 survey said that they needed help with food from their college — but 44% of those students said they weren’t getting that assistance.

The two Massachusetts colleges are just the latest schools to receive federal funding in a bid to fight hunger: Northwest-Shoals Community College is set to receive $950,000 from the Department of Education to support underserved students’ basic needs, BestColleges previously reported. The three-year grant will fund an Advocacy and Resource Center (ARC) at the northern Alabama school, according to a press release, including a food bank and help with a broad range of basic needs.