2019 UL Student Success Symposium

Food insecurity is a pervasive concern on college campuses nationwide.  New research estimated approximately 36% of college students at 4-year institutions experienced some form of food insecurity (Goldrick-Rab, Richardson, Schneider, Hernandez, & Cady, 2018).  The same study highlighted this concern is consistently more pronounced in the community college population.  Additional research indicated that 32% of college students who identified as having experienced food insecurity believed that their hunger problem had a negative impact on their education (Goldrick-Rab, Broton, & Colo, 2016).  In the fall 2018 Patriot Success survey, approximately 350 George Mason University students indicated concerns related to food insecurity.  This concern will likely expand at Mason with the increase of community college students matriculating as part of the NOVA Advance program.  This session will situate the growing concern and provide a brief overview of the various collaborations between the Student Support and Advocacy Center and Mason Dining to address student food insecurity.  The session will expand to an interactive group activity to explore how University Life could develop additional innovative collaborations and services to address food insecurity as the student population continually expands and diversifies.  These proactive efforts could positively impact student retention, timely degree completion, and well-being.