The University of Minnesota is preparing for increased food insecurity on campus as potential lapses and reductions in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments occur in November.
In an email sent on Monday, the University said students affected by SNAP reductions would be able to access one free meal a day.
“University of Minnesota students, faculty, and staff on all campuses who are current SNAP benefit recipients will be able to access one free, in-person meal in a residential dining hall each day that SNAP benefits are limited or unavailable,” the email read. “We expect the program to continue until SNAP benefits resume.”
The University estimates that total SNAP enrollment on campus totals less than 1,000 students. In 2024, there were 680 SNAP recipients enrolled in post-secondary institutions in Hennepin County.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge John McConnell ordered the administration to deliver SNAP payments in full for November, saying the administration had not done enough to deliver benefits through the first week of the month. However, President Donald Trump’s administration appealed the decision and asked for an emergency pause on full SNAP payments, which has since been granted.
Last Friday, McConnell ordered the Trump administration to restart SNAP payments using available emergency funds. The administration responded with a plan for partial SNAP benefit payments that would result in significant cuts to recipients’ benefits.
Boynton Health’s Nutritious U Food Pantry is the University’s primary avenue of addressing food insecurity on campus. The pantry operates on all three Twin Cities campuses on a rotating schedule, with the West Bank and St. Paul locations being new additions this academic year.
Boynton’s Senior Director of Public Health Michelle Trumpy said the additional locations were a direct response to increasing demand.
“We knew we needed to expand,” Trumpy said. “We knew there was a growing need on campus.”
Trumpy said the new locations have allowed the pantry to reach more students per month across campus.
“During the 2023-24 academic year, we had about 1,400 visits a month and last academic year, we had about 1,800 visits a month,” Trumpy said. “This academic year, we just closed out October with 3,000 visits.”
In response to interruptions to SNAP payments, Nutritious U is expanding its efforts to reach more students who may be impacted by food insecurity. The pantry will be opening an hour earlier for the remainder of the semester, according to Trumpy, allowing it to reach more students.
“Doing that from now until the end of the semester, if we think we can serve about 125 students an hour, that’s about 1,000 additional students we can serve,” Trumpy said.
In an email to the Minnesota Daily, University Assistant Director for Communications Matt Tveter said that the Nov. 5 pantry at Coffman Union served approximately 650 people, 85 more students than average for the first day of the two-day rotation. Tveter also confirmed that the pantry will be open two additional days this semester, Nov. 12 and Dec. 3.
While SNAP is the largest government program aimed at addressing food insecurity in the United States, qualifying for benefits can be difficult for students. Charlotte Ambrozek, assistant professor in the department of applied economics at the University, said SNAP eligibility requirements are not structured to be accessible for students.
“Most students are what, in the SNAP terminology, is called an able-bodied adult without dependents,” Ambrozek said. “You’re a person over the age of 18, you don’t have a disability, and you’re not living in a household with a child.”
According to Ambrozek, able-bodied adults without dependents are unable to maintain SNAP benefits for long without meeting certain work requirements.
“You need to work 20 hours a week or 80 hours a month to get SNAP for more than a period of three months,” Ambrozek said. “Being a full-time student and meeting those work requirements is pretty onerous.”
According to the 2024 College Student Health Survey Report, one in four students on campus reported experiencing food insecurity in 2024. Trumpy said that of the students visiting Nutritious U, 60% are international students, 55% are graduate students and 75% are Black, Indigenous or people of color.
University Associate Nursing Professor Melissa Horning said the health impacts of food insecurity can lead to significant repercussions for students.
“It can be everything from poorer school performance and disregulated behavior to depression and suicidal ideation,” Horning said. “That combined with the pressures of college, school and trying to make ends meet can lead to [negative] outcomes for students.”
While the Nutritious U Food Pantry is the University’s largest initiative to address food insecurity on campus, Boynton Health also collaborates with several community partners. Projects such as The Foodmobile on the St. Paul Campus from Keystone Community Services and free meals on Thursdays from Kitchen Coalition and Swipe Out Hunger also seek to provide students with free food options, though capacity is limited.
Horning offered praise for community groups in the Twin Cities who are rallying to offset the impacts of reduced SNAP benefits and highlighted their importance. She said, however, community groups cannot fully replace SNAP.
“I think this is like the Mr. Rogers quote about when tragedies happen, ‘look for the helpers,’” Horning said. “The helpers are here, and they’re doing their best, but there’s not enough resources to compensate for the loss of SNAP benefits. Our hunger relief network was never designed to bear the shoulder of what SNAP is set forth to do.”
