Courtesy/University of Wisconsin Hope Lab

HOUSE DEMOCRATS News:

• Nationally, 36 percent of college students do not have enough to eat. Rates are likely higher in New Mexico

SANTA FE − HB 69, the “Reduce College Hunger Pilot Program” sponsored by Representatives Joanne Ferrary (D-Las Cruces) and Christine Trujillo (D-Albuquerque), Thursday passed the House Education Committee.

The bill would make a $100,000 allocation to establish pilot programs on campuses to feed students without enough money to purchase meals and groceries. A national study from the University of Wisconsin¹ found that a full 36 percent of college students in the U.S. are not getting enough to eat.

“It’s a misconception that all students on our campuses and their families are well off or even financially stable,” Rep. Ferrary said. “Many students are spending everything they’ve saved and are taking on debt to pay for tuition, books, and rent. When every possible expense is cut, too many students have reached a point where meals get cut, too. Food insecurity is dangerous to young people’s health and it severely undercuts their educational attainment – the whole point of attending college.”

“We have to reduce hunger everywhere in New Mexico, and right now, we are lacking food programs on college campuses,” Rep. Trujillo. “We can make an immediate impact with the pilot program and expand its reach in the years to come.”

The sponsors of HB 69 say that because the rate of food insecurity in New Mexico is higher than the national average, hunger on New Mexico’s campuses is likely higher than the 36 percent national average. If implemented, the pilot program would compile data on the rates of hunger on campuses and the best ways to address it.

1. Still Hungry and Homeless in College, University of Wisconsin Hope Lab, 2018

https://hope4college.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Wisconsin-HOPE-Lab-Still-Hungry-and-Homeless.pdf