O pinion
College Students Are Falling Through
Our Largest Food Safety Net: SNAP
BY MIRIAM LIPSCHUTZ
THERE’S SOMETHING the
incoming secretary of agricul-
ture and I have in common:
a love for dairy cows. Tom
Vilsack is chief executive for
the U.S. Dairy Export Council,
and was the former USDA
secretary under President
Obama. But when I was
studying animal science at the
University of Vermont during
his term, many of my peers
were silently struggling to
afford enough to eat.

One in five UVM students
experience food insecurity.

According to the Hope Center
for College, Community and
Justice, one in three students
at four-year institutions is food
insecure. During the pandemic,
hunger has only gotten worse.

While the USDA’s sprawling
wheelhouse includes addressing
concerns of small farmers, food
supply and animal rights, one
in four Americans rely on the
agency’s food programs to feed
themselves and their families.

Many food-insecure college
students are locked out of
our nation’s largest food
safety net, the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program
— commonly known as SNAP
— thanks to outdated student
eligibility restrictions.

For instance, students
enrolled more than half-time
must work at least 20 hours a
week to be eligible for SNAP.

But with the loss of on-campus
work-study jobs and the closure
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM of restaurants and other service
sector businesses, many college
students are being hit doubly
hard — losing income as well
as their SNAP benefits, with
their route to eligibility cut
off. A GAO report from last
year showed almost 2 million
college students who are poten-
tially eligible have not reported
receiving SNAP, many of
whom are dissuaded from even
applying because of the cryptic
language that explains which
students can get benefits.

This year, more than 6
million new people have
enrolled in SNAP. One in four
students have had to take out
loans to cover the cost of food,
and one-third know someone
who dropped out because
they couldn’t afford to eat,
according to a recent study by
Swipe Out Hunger and Chegg.

Black, Latino and indigenous
students have been dispro-
portionately impacted by the
economic fallout of COVID-19,
burdened with higher rates of
basic needs insecurity compared
to their white peers as well as
a higher drop-out rate. Our
country has continually failed
to invest in higher education
for low-income students, who
are disproportionately students
of color, despite the fact that at
least 60% of new jobs require
some education beyond high
school. Students are dropping
out of school when faced with
the decision of whether to buy
food or the supplies they need
to succeed in school.

We must consider: In the
future, who will have access to
higher-paying jobs, and who
will be saddled with debt and
no degree?
Campus food insecurity
has always existed, but only
recently has been given the
attention it deserves because
of student-centered organiza-
tions like Challah for Hunger
that are uplifting student voices
and advocating for long-term
solutions. While immediate
relief is needed, we also need
to #FUELHigherEd and create
policy solutions that acknowl-
edge food as fundamental for
learning and make nutritious
meals universal. Policies must
be equitable, centering student
populations most impacted by
basic needs insecurity, and these
should not be temporary band
aids, but truly transformative
state and federal policies.

In returning to his former
cabinet post, Vilsack will have a
huge impact on college student’s
ability to fill their own cabinets
at home through how he runs
the agencies and proposed
rule changes to SNAP. During
his tenure under Obama, the
department was able to reduce
food insecurity by the order of 8
million people.

Addressing our nation’s
growing levels of food insecu-
rity, especially the lack of access
to SNAP access for college
students, must be a priority
during the Biden administra-
tion. No student should have to
choose between food and their
education. Miriam Lipschutz is the director of
advocacy at Challah for Hunger
and a second-year master’s of
public policy student at Temple
University. She can be reached at
miriam@challahforhunger.org. STATEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHER
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published. JEWISH EXPONENT
KVETCH ’N’ KVELL
Why No Photo of Gadot?
I USUALLY READ most op-eds in your weekly, but this current
one written by Benjamin Kerstein (“How Gal Gadot is Changing
the Image of Jewish Women,” Dec. 24) is puzzling.

Why am I scratching my head? The article is about Gal Gadot
and displays a photo of Kerstein. Why would we want to see a
photo of him and not Gadot?
Thanks, just wondering.

Libbie Soffer | Wallingford
Ed. note: Thanks for writing, Libbie. In our opinion section, as in
most newspapers, we run headshots of the op-ed writers (if they’re
available) rather than photos of the subject matter. The practice
probably derives from holding authors accountable for their
words, but it also puts a face to the bylines for the readers.

Praise for Dentists
If you have ever suffered with a toothache or issues related to
lack of routine care, then you know that dentists are essential
workers (“Dentists Talk About How Life Has Changed During
Pandemic,” Dec. 10).

Kudos to Dr. Barnett and his colleagues for working through
the risk of the pandemic!
The Holocaust survivor dental project should be a lesson to
medical professional everywhere.

Very touching!
Meryl Leviten | via jewishexponent.com
Not Just Jews Who Disagree
Thanks for the great article “Mikveh Israel Archives a Mirror of
Today” (Dec. 10). I’m one of the transcribers for this project and
believe me, there is plenty of conflict among the Christians too
(even the Quakers)!
Carolyn Klepser | via jewishexponent.com
What Now?
My parents and grandparents were born and raised in Northeast
Philadelphia. They were loyal subscribers to the print version of
the Jewish Exponent for decades. (My great-grandparents hailed
from the Pale of Settlement, Zhtytomyr and Berditchev.)
Adam Milstein’s “Never Again the Canary in the Coal Mine” (June
18) is highly topical, especially the entreaty and call-to-arms: “We, as
a community, must adopt several principles to win this critical battle.

First, embrace and support the state of Israel without any preconditions.”
I am jubilant at the progress made during the Trump admin-
istration, facilitating full diplomatic ties between Eretz Yisrael
and Bahrain, Sudan and even the Himalayan Kingdom of
Bhutan a few weeks ago. I never imagined that Jared Kushner
could be the architect for peace leading to the Abraham Accords.

I want Israel to thrive and become a strong independent nation,
respected and welcomed by its neighbors. I am worried though,
because President Trump’s administration will not be able to
nurture and preserve these recent accomplishments.

What can we do to ensure the well-being of the state of Israel
during the next four years? I’m anxious, and afraid.

Lisa Kesselman Wells | via jewishexponent.com
DECEMBER 31, 2020
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