Giving Compass' Take:

• Shalina Chatlani describes how higher education institutes are grappling with the issues of student homelessness and food insecurity on their campuses. 

• How can philanthropy help identify and scale effective interventions?

• Learn how community colleges are coping with housing and food insecurity problems. 

The signs of student homelessness and hunger on campus are easy to miss: rumors circulating of that generous professor who brings snacks to the classroom, a surge in faculty complaints around students taking extra-long naps in the lounge, or maybe more students are bringing plastic bags to campus events which offer food.

That last one, says Natalie Harder, chancellor of South Louisiana Community College, is what made her realize how deeply these issues were impacting her campus.

“I remember asking my student engagement office why there were so many leftovers, and they said it was a conscious decision to have that much food. That’s when I realized we had a bigger problem,” said Harder.

But when many students are often too scared to ask for help, executives are wondering: How can we be better first responders?

Marva Craig, vice president of student affairs at Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York City, said the focus on these issues is fairly new.

Craig explained it’s critical to facilitate a network of communicative observers within the faculty team, noting food insecurity begins with a student asking a professor for money to eat at the cafeteria.

There are a number of easy steps administrators can take, one of which is having a food pantry on campus.

Read the full article about helping homeless and food-insecure students by Shalina Chatlani at Education Dive.