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Survey: Minnesota college students struggle with bills for food, housing

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iStock / Special to The Forum

ST. PAUL — Well over half of Minnesota State college and university students struggle to pay for food or housing, according to a survey released Thursday, March 5.

College-based food pantries and emergency grant programs have popped up across the state in recent years amid growing awareness of students’ inability to cover basic needs.
But “clearly, more needs to be done,” said Devinder Malhotra, chancellor for the higher education system, who called the figures “eye-opening.”
The Temple University-based Hope Center for College, Community and Justice surveyed nearly 10,000 students at 25 Minnesota State colleges and three universities.
They found 49 percent of college students struggled to pay for housing in the past year and 42 percent had a hard time affording decent food in the previous month.
Sixty percent of college students and 54 percent at universities experienced either housing or food insecurity or both.
Noting that students of color are more likely to struggle financially, Malhotra said helping students pay for basic needs will be critical for the system as it seeks to close equity gaps at every campus by 2030.
“Many of those who drop out are in good academic standing,” he said. “They drop out because life happens.”
Malhotra is encouraging colleges and universities to build more relationships with area businesses and nonprofits to help cover those needs.

System role

Oballa Oballa had a hard time paying for food while studying at Riverland Community College in Austin. Now president of Lead MN, the association for the state’s two-year public college students, Oballa wrote Malhotra a letter in January urging system leaders to take food insecurity seriously.
“Ignoring the issue of food insecurity will only continue to widen the opportunity gap that exists for our most underrepresented students,” he wrote.
Both Oballa and the Hope Center say the Minnesota State system should take the lead on basic needs support rather than leaving it up to the individuals schools.
The Hope Center also recommends:
• Establishing a single webpage listing both school and community resources.
• Reducing the administrative burden on students seeking support.
• Encouraging faculty to add a note to their syllabi informing students about how to access food and housing resources.

State grants

At Lead MN’s urging, the Legislature last year passed the Hunger-Free Campus Act, encouraging schools to offer food pantries and emergency grants and to inform students about available programs.
In 2017, the state created a $175,000 emergency grant program that gives college students up $1,000 to cover unexpected housing, food or transportation costs. Colleges with a demonstrated homeless student population compete for the grants.
A legislative report cited students who used the cash to replace car tires, pay hospital bills and cover basic living costs after an injury left one unable to work.
Metropolitan State University spent its $20,000 grant in “about two to three weeks because the need was so high,” outreach coordinator Khou Vue said.
Separately, she said, the St. Paul university handed out $12,359 in emergency grants during the fall semester using funds donated by staff.
Normandale Community College in Bloomington also received a state grant to complement an in-house program that offers cash to desperate students. The school said it received $27,000 in requests from students last fall but could award only $15,000.
St. Cloud State University in 2018 began offering a no-frills dorm option called Simply Stearns that has fewer staff and no organized programming. At $2,020 a semester for a double room, it costs nearly $800 less than the next-cheapest option.
Dakota County Technical College opened a social navigation office in 2017 to help students with basic needs and wellness. It offers micro-grants up to $350 as well as one-time emergency grants up to $1,000 after a stringent review process.
Navigator Chris Tran said a lack of affordable and convenient housing is a common complaint. Students also show up worried about paying for transportation or child care.
The school also has ramped up its food support in recent years with a mobile food pantry and prepared meals available three days a week.
“There’s always more that we can do,” Tran said.

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