January 22, 2025

A new online resource, NCCollegeFoodBenefits.org, is aiming to reduce food insecurity among college students in North Carolina by raising awareness of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The website offers a user-friendly quiz that helps students determine their potential eligibility.

SNAP, also known in North Carolina as Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), provides food benefits to low-income individuals or families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford nutritious food essential to health and well-being. Nationally, two out of three college students who are likely eligible for SNAP/FNS food assistance aren’t participating in the program, according to the United States Government Accountability Office.

The NC College Food Benefits website and outreach campaign is a project of the Carolina Hunger Initiative, which is a nutrition security program based at the UNC-Chapel Hill Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and a SNAP Outreach partner with the NC Department of Health and Human Services Division of Child and Family Well-Being, FNS Section.

Dr. Jessica Soldavini

Dr. Jessica Soldavini

“Worrying about basic needs like food shouldn’t get in the way of your academic success,” said Jessica Soldavini, PhD, RD, LDN, principal investigator on the project with the Carolina Hunger Initiative and assistant professor in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Department of Nutrition. “Food insecurity among college students is a significant public health issue that negatively impacts dietary intake, physical health, mental health and academic performance. NCCollegeFoodBenefits.org will make it easy for college students to find information on SNAP/FNS, a program that has been shown to improve food security.”

In addition to student resources, the website offers a dedicated section for staff and partners who work with college students, providing tools to assist in disseminating information about food assistance programs.

“The Carolina Hunger Initiative is dedicated to increasing access to healthy food,” said Lou Anne Crumpler, director of the Carolina Hunger Initiative. “This new project builds on our successes and relationships from more than a decade of work.”

For more information, and to check your potential eligibility, visit NCCollegeFoodBenefits.org.


Contact the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team at sphcomm@unc.edu.

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