For First Time, U.S. Releases Data on Student Basic Needs

Over the past decade, universities and community organizations alike have increased their efforts to support students struggling to access basic needs like housing and food. But even as researchers tried to study how best to help those students, one significant hurdle stood in their way: no one knew exactly how many homeless or hungry students were out there. From 2015 to 2021, Temple University’s Hope Center for College, Community and Justice, a student equity research center, published an annual #RealCollege Survey, which included rates of homelessness and food insecurity among college students. While it proved a useful window onto the issue, it was limited by the small number of colleges and universities that opted to participate—particularly in its early years.