The Massachusetts Hunger-Free Campus Coalition was formed in the fall of 2019 to address food insecurity among high-need populations enrolled in Massachusetts public colleges and universities. Collectively, the coalition is working to leverage and expand existing resources and services including maximizing student enrollment in federal nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), supporting meal swipe plans and EBT-SNAP markets with campus food vendors, and other initiatives designed to address food insecurity among the student population. Our goal is to ensure equity and incorporate student voices as we work to make Massachusetts college campuses hunger free.
Today, our coalition is made up of over 100 individuals and 50 organizations and institutions across Massachusetts working to end hunger on campus.
Student Food Insecurity in Massachusetts
- 44% of public university students in Massachusetts are food insecure.
- Because of historic and contemporary divestment and discrimination, Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ students disproportionately experience food insecurity – at rates of 52%, 47%, and 46% respectively. Student parents also experience higher rates of food insecurity at 53%.
- Only 20% of food insecure students utilize SNAP benefits. (Source)
Legislation Overview and Sponsors
In January of 2025, Senator Lovely (D-Salem), Representative Vargas (D-Haverhill), and Representative Domb (D-Amherst) re-filed An Act establishing the Hunger Free Campus Initiative (S939/ H1466). The bill provides a roadmap for the Department of Higher Ed to support 2- and 4-year public colleges and minority -serving institutions in bringing hunger relief initiatives that have been proven successful to campuses around Massachusetts.
This visionary bill looks to reimagine how college campuses are tackling food insecurity. The legislation does the following:
- Creates a permanent grant program within the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education to provide a grant program for community colleges, public universities, and federally recognized minority-serving institutions to advance hunger-relief programming on campus.
- Encourages campuses to leverage existing resources, like leveraging partnerships with nearby food pantries, and maximize enrollment in federal nutrition programs.
- Urges campuses to create student-led food insecurity task forces to explore instituting anti-hunger initiatives in order to be considered for grant funding. These initiatives include student meal sharing programs, emergency funds for students to address their basic needs, campus food insecurity research, on-campus Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) vendors, and more.
This bill offers an intentional menu of options for schools to have the resources and capacity to tackle food insecurity on their campuses.
“Food insecurity is a solvable problem. The pandemic has further exacerbated hunger, especially for college students already struggling to get by. In a state where our cost of living is so high and navigating support can be complicated, solving food insecurity will require a systems approach that builds capacity, efficiency and meets people where they’re at. At the end of the day, college students can’t learn or take advantage of professional opportunities while on an empty stomach. We can fix this.”
– Rep. Andy Vargas, Democrat – 3rd Essex
Hunger Free Campus 3.14.25 (1)For more information about our coalition, college hunger and legislation, check out our 2025 Hunger Free Campus Coalition advocacy one-pager.