Study finds 36 percent of college students don't eat enough

ASHLAND, Ore.– A recent study says that more than a third of college students across the nation don’t have enough to eat.

Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab study, called “Still Hungry and Homeless in College,” stated student hunger is not a new issue but one that is getting worse.

NBC5 News reached out to students at Southern Oregon University to see what they thought. Some said there were enough affordable food options at and around the campus but others disagreed.

Most acknowledged it does get harder when you move off campus like Renee Resendez, a freshmen soccer player, who says he has upperclassmen teammates that struggle to balance work, sports and school.

“They also work just like five to six days a week,” he said. “Even then, they’re still working to pay rent and then having little left over to get what they want rather then what they need.”

As a freshmen that lives on campus, he is required to have a meal plan through the school’s cafeteria, so finding a meal isn’t tough. Like Resendez, Ben Nilaver is also a freshmen that lives on campus. He says the meal plan is great and affordable but wonders what upperclassmen must do.

“I don’t know about upper year people,” he said. “I would assume they just have to figure out their own food. But yeah, freshmen get fed pretty well.”

The study showed that grades suffer when students don’t know where their next meal will be or even where they will sleep as housing was another big problem for students. On top of those issues, student debt is another growing problem many college students have to worry about.

However, a couple students at SOU also said that it is ultimately up to the individual on how they spend their money, whether that be for food or their social life.