Food insecurity is defined as the lack of consistent access to enough food necessary to live a healthy life and the lack of resources to obtain such food. There are numerous causes of student food insecurity, including the increasing cost of attending college and university related to increasing tuition costs, insufficient financial aid, and students’ housing, transportation and healthcare expenses. The decreasing amount of resources at schools also contributes to the issue, in addition to familial financial hardships, and additional responsibilities that students may have.

The purpose of the SNAP for Students Act A08757(Forrest) / S08347(Jackson) is to mitigate student food insecurity at private and public colleges and universities. Appearing to be fiscally neutral, the SNAP for Students Act requires the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) to create informational materials on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as it applies to college students. The bill requires the following information to be included in the resource: eligibility requirements for students, methods of application, sources of assistance in applying or to have queries satisfied, organizations and programs associated with SNAP, and ways of contacting the OTDA.
 

The resource is then required to be shared on the OTDA’s website as well as on the website of every one of New York’s county web pages that deal with social services. It is further required that a digital version of the resource be shared with all institutions of higher education in New York, who in turn, would be required to share the resource with their students, via an electronic communication, at least once annually. Further
electronic distribution would occur by the Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) to all Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) applicants at least once annually. There are four guidelines on additional information that must be included in all electronic communications; the resource, information on where and how to apply for benefits, information on obtaining assistance applying, and direction on where to go for more
information.