League for Innovation in the Community College January 2019 | Page 25

A
ccording to Wisconsin HOPE Lab’s Hungry and advancing economically. The organization saw an opportunity
Homeless in College (2017), 67 percent of community to collaborate with institutions and organizations that position
college students across 24 U.S. states are food clients for greater economic opportunity.
insecure, with 33 percent of those students experiencing the
very lowest levels of food security. Moreover, about half of “Our clients were dealing with so many issues outside of food
community college students experience housing insecurity, that unless we dealt with those issues, and connected them
and 14 percent are homeless. with programs to advance economically, they would not be
able to move beyond needing food assistance,” said Reginald
In a fall 2017 Houston Community College (HCC) survey, 88 Young, Director of Food for Change, which oversees the food
percent of student respondents indicated that food giveaways scholarship program at the Houston Food Bank.
helped them focus more on school (Hernandez, 2018). As
a result of survey findings, the college initiated an effort to In 2016, Houston Food Bank’s Food for Change awarded
combat basic needs insecurities that negatively impact student HCC’s financial coaches a grant to offer food scholarships.
retention and success. Shortly thereafter, the partnership between the Houston Food
Bank and the HCC financial coach team was strengthened by
At HCC, the financial aid department’s financial coaches are on
the opportunity to analyze the impact of food scholarships.
the front line of addressing basic needs insecurities affecting
student persistence. They see students who register with Funded by the Kresge Foundation and William T. Grant
eagerness and hope later become discouraged by Foundation, co-principal investigators Dr. Daphne Hernandez
economic challenges. of the University of Houston and Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab of
Temple University are evaluating the two-year impact of HCC’s
In a natural extension of their work, HCC financial coaches food scholarship on students’ academic performance and
forged a partnership with the Houston Food Bank for a game- persistence in college.
changing food scholarship program in conjunction with a
two-year research study to explore the academic impact of
How the Food Scholarship Works
providing food assistance.
During the spring and fall semesters of 2018, 1,000 students—
Collaborative Innovation Addressing most Latino or African American—were selected for access to
and Analyzing Food Insecurity the food scholarship program through a randomized process
based on income reported on their FAFSA. To participate,
In 2012, Houston Food Bank’s Food for Change initiative these students were required to opt in to the program through
identified that individuals who frequent the pantries were not a quick online form. Of the 500 students offered access to
“
67 percent of community college
students across 24 U.S. states are
food insecure, with 33 percent of those
students experiencing the very lowest
levels of food security.
WINTER/SPRING 2019
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