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LOS ANGELES – Today, Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Congressman Josh Harder (CA-10), Congressman Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) led a letter to President Biden with 46 Members of Congress applauding the Biden-Harris Administration on hosting the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over 50 years. This Conference will catalyze the public and private sectors around a coordinated strategy to end hunger, improve nutrition and physical activity, and close the disparities surrounding these issues. 

“We thank you for leading a coordinated strategy on hunger and write to highlight the growing crisis of student food insecurity, which threatens the ability of higher education to serve as a vehicle for socioeconomic mobility,” wrote the lawmakers. “While Congress works to permanently expand access to SNAP for college students, we appreciate your engagement on this issue and would be encouraged to see the inclusion of student food insecurity as a priority in the administration’s national strategy to end hunger.” 

Food insecurity has become increasingly prevalent at higher education institutions, impacting 39% of students at two-year institutions and 29% of students at four-year institutions. Students of color were more likely to experience basic needs insecurity; 75% of Indigenous, 70% of Black, and 70% of American Indian or Alaska Native students experienced food insecurity, housing insecurity, and/or homelessness. 

In 2021, Congressman Gomez introduced H.R. 1919/S.2515, the Enhance Access to SNAP Act (or EATS Act) with Congressmen Josh Harder (CA-10), Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) to address the growing crisis of food insecurity among college students. This legislation would permanently expand Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility to millions of college students experiencing hunger on a daily basis. 
 

See the full text of the letter below. Link to pdf here. 

Joseph R. Biden, Jr.  

President of the United States  

The White House  

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW  

Washington, D.C. 20500  

Dear President Biden,  

We applaud the Biden-Harris Administration on hosting the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over 50 years. We thank you for leading a coordinated strategy on hunger and write to highlight the growing crisis of student food insecurity, which threatens the ability of higher education to serve as a vehicle for socioeconomic mobility. While Congress works to permanently expand access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for college students, we appreciate your engagement on this issue and would be encouraged to see the inclusion of student food insecurity as a priority in the Administration’s national strategy to end hunger.  

The Biden-Harris Administration has already taken great steps to advance racial equity for students, including through targeted student debt relief for 43 million borrowers with the highest economic need. Improving food security for college students aligns with the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to ensure higher education opportunities remain accessible for all. Nutrition is also increasingly a matter of equity for students. Low-income students, Black and Indigenous students, first-generation students, and students who are members of the LGBTQ+ community are at highest risk of experiencing food insecurity. 

SNAP is one of our nation’s most effective tools for combatting hunger and alleviating poverty, however eligibility requirements for students are complicated. There are many actions the Administration can explore to ease student access to SNAP, such as encouraging state agencies to use information collected by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and to notify students who received Free or Reduced-Price Meals (FRPM) of their potential eligibility.  

Again, we applaud the Biden-Harris Administration for hosting the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. As Congress continues to work on permanently expanding access to SNAP for college students, we would appreciate the inclusion of student food insecurity in the Administration’s national strategy to end hunger and improve nutrition. We look forward to continuing to work with your administration to create an equitable, healthy learning environment for our county’s future leaders.  

Sincerely, 

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