The Pennsylvania Department of Education announced $1 million in PA Hunger-Free Campus grants to 30 institutions of higher education and private licensed schools to combat student hunger on college campuses across the Commonwealth. Grants are awarded to help schools address food insecurity on campus and expand access to food options, create awareness initiatives, and upgrade facilities.
“Sometimes, hunger is an invisible affliction—an isolating barrier to growth and learning that can, unfortunately, go undetected by peers, educators, and mentors,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Carrie Rowe. “When college campuses offer assistance to students at risk of hunger, they’re helping vulnerable learners feel seen, valued, and supported.”
Awardees can be found on PDE’s website.
Schools will use the funding to create or expand food pantries, provide food to students who remain on campus during scheduled breaks, arrange trips to a local grocery store and provide gift cards, plant gardens for fresh produce, host cooking lessons on a budget, and more.
Grant recipients developed innovative and flexible initiatives to meet the unique needs of college students, some of which include offering a variety of meal plans including an option that complies with SNAP eligibility, creating or implementing meal-sharing programs, educating student leaders on campus to develop student-centered programs, or facilitating innovative community partnerships.
All grant recipients are members of the Hunger-Free Campus Initiative, a coalition of Pennsylvania institutions of higher education focused on addressing hunger and other basic needs for their students, creating opportunities for connection among student hunger advocates, providing resources and strategies for campuses, and supporting opportunities to apply for grants related to addressing food insecurity.
