About a dozen more of the football players at the historically Black college in South Carolina — half community college transfers and half first-time freshmen who live off campus — also said they were food insecure. While their rent is cheaper because they can split it with as many as five roommates, Artis said, it also means they have other expenses like utilities, groceries and transportation — all which saw stark increases from inflation.
The high price of gas, food and rent is straining students’ access to higher education. In response, institutions like Benedict College are using the infusion of one-time federal Covid relief dollars, grants and philanthropy to ramp up offerings of free clothes, financial aid and other necessities to keep lower-income students on track to earn degrees. But with that cash running out, it’s leaving some college leaders worried about how they’ll sustain many of the programs they’ve built to act as a lifeline for their students.
“We’re seeing colleges across the country take on a variety of supports for students to help them enroll or stay enrolled in college,” Carrie Warick-Smith, vice president of public policy at the Association of Community College Trustees, said in an interview. “Campuses are providing services such as food pantries, help applying for [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits, housing partnerships, textbook exchanges and in some cases, even offering tuition freezes.”
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