The New Jersey Council of County Colleges, in partnership with the state’s community colleges and the Future Alumni Support Team, has launched a statewide fundraising initiative to combat student food insecurity at New Jersey's community colleges.
Food insecurity is a significant barrier to student success. A recent Hope Center #RealCollege survey of New Jersey community colleges found that 39% of student respondents were food insecure in the 30 days prior to the survey, a figure that aligns with national trends.
New Jersey community colleges have ramped up efforts to address student hunger by creating on campus food pantries, helping eligible community colleges students access the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), strengthening partnerships with community-based organizations, and working to de-stigmatize accessing basic needs supports. However, these efforts need additional support to be sustainable going forward.
All funds raised through the Feed the Future: Fight Student Hunger campaign go directly to the food pantries at New Jersey community colleges that are helping hungry students.
“New Jersey’s Community Colleges are committed to ensuring every New Jerseyan can get on, stay on, and complete pathways to post-secondary credentials and degrees of value that lead to jobs and careers that provide economic and social mobility,” said NJCCC President Aaron Fichtner. “The Feed the Future Campaign is a critical component of that work. Helping our students meet their basic needs, such as access to food, is critically important to ensuring they can complete their education and achieve their goals.”
Jacob C. Farbman, Executive Director, Economic Mobility at NJCCC, said the fundraising campaign aims to ensure students can focus on their studies without worrying about where their next meal will come from.
“Now we are asking New Jerseyans to support community college students by ensuring students don’t go hungry,” Farbman said. “Even small contributions to a New Jersey community college food pantry will ensure students can stay enrolled in college, earn credentials and degrees, and get jobs that pay family-sustaining wages.”
Individuals and businesses that wish to make a donation can go to this website, spotfund.com/teams/njccc, and choose the local community college whose student food pantry they would like to support.
About the Future Alumni Support Team
The mission of the Future Alumni Support Team (FAST) is to raise philanthropic support for post-secondary education to lift students from low-income backgrounds out of poverty and eliminate the need for life-long government assistance. The vision is for students, especially those enrolled in community colleges, to pursue an education free of food insecurity and its impact on graduation rates.
About the New Jersey Council of County Colleges
Governed by the presidents and trustees of the state’s 18 community colleges, the New Jersey Council of County Colleges (NJCCC) supports the state's community colleges and the more than 240,000 students they serve annually by fostering collaboration and developing solutions that expand access to college, promote equity and student success, and create a skilled workforce to drive economic growth. T
