Treffer: CalFresh Participation among California's College Students: A 2022-23 School Year Update. Data Point

Food insecurity is widespread among college students in the United States. CalFresh food benefits, known federally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, can help students in California pay for food, but may not reach all eligible students. This data point provides estimates of CalFresh participation rates among community college and University of California (UC) students in California and updates numbers from the 2021-22 data point. To better measure student participation in CalFresh, the California Policy Lab (CPL) partners with the California Community Colleges (CCC), the University of California Office of the President (UCOP), the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), and the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC). Through this partnership, CPL created a linked database of student-level administrative data on college enrollment, financial aid, and CalFresh participation that makes this analysis possible. In the academic year 2022-23, 14.4% of California community college students, 20.7% of UC undergraduate students, and 12.3% of UC graduate students participated in CalFresh at some point during the school year.

ERIC