Hunger on college campuses often hides in plain sight

NEW YORK - Hunger is a problem for much of the United States population, and it often hides in plain sight on college campuses. 

There are programs and legislation to stamp out student hunger, but are they enough? 

Some John Jay College of Criminal Justice students discuss campus life, but a topic they often avoid is hunger. 

"A bacon, egg and cheese could $7, and I did not have that $7," Destiny Dean said. 

"You can't just say to your friends, like, oh I'm hungry, and sometimes they're like, OK, let's go to McDonald's, and you sometimes feel you don't want to tell them, I can't afford McDonald's right now," Jo Borio said. 

Some surveys, including one conducted last year for the University of Texas at Austin, estimate 1 in 3 students experience food insecurity.

"You can't study and you can't learn and you can't sleep well if you're doing it all on an empty stomach," New York State Assembly member Linda Rosenthal said. 

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Rosenthal's bill is the "Hunger Free Campus Act," to provide grants to public and private institutions and help campus food pantries and other programs. It is modeled after legislation in a handful of other states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 

Melaine Clarke gave Rosenthal a tour of the free food program she runs at John Jay. But some students who need it may worry about a stigma attached to food insecurity and fail to sign up.

"We serve over 1,000 students throughout all of our programs, but those are the ones that know about it. I'm sure that, out of 15,000 students, I'm sure there are many who don't know the resources are here, and we want to get that word out," John Jay College President Karol Mason said. 

Food insecurity experts say these programs for college students are helpful, but only scratched the surface of a much larger problem.

Federal COVID-era SNAP benefits, or food stamps, start running out effective Thursday, which will make this problem worse, said Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America.

"We need a permanent, sustainable fix beyond the Band-Aids that campuses are just trying to do, like here," Berg said. 

"What is that long-term solution?" CBS2's Dave Carlin asked. 

"To build food into college student aid packages," Berg said. "Senator Gillibrand does have a bill to make it easier for college students to get SNAP."

Berg is worried that legislation will stall and campus food banks will become more and more overwhelmed, scrounging for crumbs when what is needed is a feast.