Once again, SNAP is a political football: And Americans suffer for it

More than half of all students, and nearly 40 percent of all faculty at New Mexico’s higher education institutions don’t have enough food to eat. The findings, from a new state-funded study, reveal troubling statistics representative of a worsening problem across America. New Mexico is taking steps to address it — and other states should pay attention. 

We’ve known about the problem of food insecurity among U.S. college students for a while. But the New Mexico research casts a wider spotlight on hunger’s broader impact on higher education teachers and administrators. It’s yet another data point that shows just how far — and deep — food insecurity’s reach in America has grown.  

The study is timely, as government programs designed to help those who go hungry every day are currently being politically targeted for elimination. The nation’s food insecure are now pawns in a debt-ceiling showdown between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, where elected leaders are placing their own political agendas above the needs of starving U.S. citizens.  

Mental health experts say food insecurity’s impact on students can result in lower grade point averages, cause students to miss out on internships and other career development opportunities and stunt their post-graduate professional ambitions. The problem is not unique to New Mexico — nor a new phenomenon.  

Four years ago, the City University of New York (CUNY) concluded that food insecurity for U.S. college students ranged anywhere from 20 percent to over 50 percent. The study noted the statistics were far higher than the U.S. food insecurity rate at the time reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

The overall problem appears to be getting worse. A study last month by Urban Institute estimates nearly a quarter of all Americans are food insecure, an increase over the previous year. Experts say inflation and the termination of COVID-19 stimulus benefits are to blame. While inflation has started to cool from record highs, those struggling to get by likely won’t see food prices decline any time soon.  

That’s because many U.S. food companies are continuing to raise prices, not because of inflation, but simply to make more money. PepsiCo, for example, reportedly increased prices on its products by 16 percent during the latest quarter — and boosted profits by almost 20 percent. Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich put it best:  “Food corporations are using inflation as cover to jack up prices.”  

Simply entertaining the idea of eliminating vital food programs that provide a lifeline for millions of people in light of the state of food insecurity in America would be absurd. But actual proposals in Congress have done just that as the pending fight over the debt ceiling looms.  

A bill passed last month by U.S. House Republicans to raise the debt limit includes major government spending rollbacks, including proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). The important role SNAP plays in combating food insecurity is well documented. Yet, Republican leaders want to include work requirements as part of SNAP eligibility, a provision that will only widen hunger’s grip on a growing number of Americans.  

The fact is, approximately 70 percent of U.S. college students have at least some type of part-time job. If work requirements become part of SNAP eligibility, Congress should agree to accept students in the program who have to work to help make ends meet.   

Colleges and universities often respond to food insecurity by offering food pantries, but institutions like CUNY have found that they do not sufficiently address the needs of faculty, staff and students. In New Mexico, the state is attempting to take a broader response and create food-secure campuses.   

President Biden, who has made ending food insecurity in America a priority, has said he will veto the bill in the unlikely event it passes the U.S. Senate and lands on his desk. But the fact these proposals are even on the table shows how we have failed a growing constituency of people — including college students who hope one day to experience their piece of the American Dream — facing severe hardship around the nation.  

A game of chicken is playing out in Congress, and millions of people who rely on government-sponsored food initiatives to stay alive food are being caught in the middle. This isn’t a red or blue issue. It’s an American problem, one that requires compassion — not political gamesmanship — for us to solve.  

And that starts with keeping SNAP in place for those who depend on it to survive.  

Lyndon Haviland, DrPH, MPH, is a distinguished scholar at the CUNY School of Public Health and Health Policy.