Students at the University of South Carolina are working to provide resources for fellow students facing food insecurity and urge state legislators to better the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Student Government’s Legislative Action Network (LAN) has proposed recommendations for South Carolina and public universities across the state to help better access to SNAP benefits for college students.
The LAN recommends that the State of South Carolina passes legislation to mandate annual reports on SNAP benefit usage and food access, or lack thereof. They also recommend that the state defends SNAP from the proposed budget cuts and assists South Carolina universities with increasing SNAP enrollment.
The committee also recommends USC and other public universities in South Carolina create more budget-friendly meal plans, make efforts to increase SNAP enrollment among eligible college students and adopt a peer advocacy model to increase enrollment and decrease stigma surrounding SNAP.
The LAN uses opportunities such as Carolina Day to discuss recommendations with state representatives and senators.
Student Government sends out a student insights survey each year to gauge the impacts and interests on various issues to students. The 2024 survey reported that 12% of students at USC suffer food insecurity, first-year international studies student and committee member of LAN Eva Burba
An issue for college students with SNAP benefits Burba mentioned is students’ awareness of their eligibility. SNAP does not re-enroll students after they move out of their family household. While many students are still eligible for benefits after moving out, they may not know how to navigate re-enrollment.
The Gamecock CommUNITY Shop is also trying to raise awareness about SNAP eligibility and provide resources for students in need by partnering with the Student Basic Needs Coalition (SBNC).
Second-year master of public administration graduate student and vice president of the SBNC Olivia Gillespie said one thing SBNC does is hand out packs of ramen on Greene Street with QR codes on them which takes students to a form that tells them whether or not they qualify for SNAP Benefits.
“We do that because college students have the right to receive SNAP benefits,” Gillespie said. “You know, they also need groceries, and I feel like not a lot of people think about college students when it comes to food insecurity and SNAP in general.”
Second-year information science student Garima Bhalla works with the commUNITY shop on legislative work regarding SNAP benefits.
“A lot of the problem is students just don’t know that this is something that they can do,” Bhalla said. “One in three college students are eligible for SNAP… they don’t know that SNAP is... something that will help them get groceries and help them in their college career .”
Burba said that the Legislative Action Network is recommending that USC adopts a peer advocacy model through the peer leadership program to increase SNAP enrollment and understanding to destigmatize its usage.
“We want some peer advocates to conduct themselves in a confidential manner and take new students and upperclassmen through the steps of applying for SNAP benefits,” Burba said.
While the LAN works on various topics impacting the student body each year, Burba said one of the issues the committee aims to focus on this semester is students’ basic needs insecurities, specifically access to SNAP benefits.
“SNAP, specifically, was the one we dialed into based on basic needs,” Burba said. “Last year, the committee also talked about SNAP, but they did so in a broader sense. They talked about food insecurity, as well as living and (housing) insecurities, but we wanted to further dive into SNAP because of recent cuts that are happening nationwide.”
Recent proposed legislation is looking to make cuts to the SNAP program which would affect an estimated 40 million people. The United States House Committee on Agriculture proposed a bill to modify SNAP in 2024 and cut the program by $30 billion starting in 2027.
"While advocating for (these recommendations) is the biggest thing we can do, the systems that are already in place are mainly at Gamecock CommUNITY shop, so just increasing social awareness and people can use it for free is something that I've been trying to do," Burba said.