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CSCU launches coordinated response to student food insecurity; system expands SNAP E&T, pantries and 2-1-1 outreach
Summary
System leaders described a multi-year effort — funded partly by Stop & Shop donations and partnerships with FoodShare and United Way 2-1-1 — to expand campus pantries, SNAP employment & training enrollment and student-facing communications to address food and basic-needs insecurity.
Connecticut State Colleges and Universities staff told the Board Committee on Academic and Student Affairs that the system has expanded a coordinated response to student food insecurity and related basic-needs barriers, leveraging private donations, community partnerships and a newly formed Student Success Council.
Leslie Mara, associate vice president for systemwide initiatives and sponsored programs, told regents the system began focused work after a 2019 Lumina Foundation grant that assessed nonacademic barriers to student success. Since 2022 the system has received recurring donations from Stop & Shop — $100,000, then $133,000 and $156,500 in successive years — that campuses have used to support on-campus pantries and related student food programs.
Mara described a range of campus responses: traditional pantries, meal “grab-and-go” services,…
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