{"id":120171,"date":"2026-02-22T00:31:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T00:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/120171\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T00:31:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T00:31:09","slug":"snap-eligibility-for-food-insecure-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/120171\/","title":{"rendered":"SNAP eligibility for food-insecure students"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Tuesday evening, the Lehigh Student Senate collaborated with Lehigh Valley Community Action to discuss SNAP benefits for college students who may be experiencing food insecurity. SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program<\/a>, is a federally funded program that provides food assistance through an electronic benefits transfer card.<\/p>\n

According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health<\/a>, families living below 130% of the poverty line typically qualify for SNAP benefits. The program currently assists one in eight Americans.<\/p>\n

Tasfia Ahmad, \u201827, the chair of the facilities and services committee of the student senate, said many college students experience food insecurity at expensive, private institutions like Lehigh.<\/p>\n

She said students who live off campus may face financial stress from rent, tuition and academic workloads, which can lead to skipped meals or inadequate nutrition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to NPR,<\/a> two in five college students in the U.S. face food insecurity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re studying, taking classes \u2014 and on top of that \u2014 have work-study and other jobs, and that doesn\u2019t just affect grades, but also mental health,\u201d Ahmad said. \u201cSo we want to make sure (students) have access to this resource that could not only help with food but also grades and mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahmad said there are often misconceptions surrounding SNAP eligibility, and one goal of the event was to address them.<\/p>\n

If a student is under 21<\/a>, family income is considered in determining eligibility. After age 21, a student\u2019s income and work circumstances are also taken into account.<\/p>\n

Ahmad said documentation, such as proof of income, expenses and letters from employers, is required to complete a SNAP application.<\/p>\n

As part of the event registration, participants were asked to bring documentation and questions about the application process. After the event, attendees were encouraged to seek advice from Anna Smith, the director of Community Action Development Bethlehem, on their applications.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ahmad said once a SNAP application is submitted, applicants complete a short phone interview. Decisions are typically issued within 30 days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If approved, funds are loaded onto an electronic benefits transfer card. Ahmad said the amount allocated depends on the individual student\u2019s income and is usually not enough to cover a full month of groceries.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou honestly won\u2019t get a lot of money at all,\u201d Ahmad said. \u201cIt might get you through two weeks of groceries with budgeting, but it could be more or less than that. I only know one person with maximum benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahmad said immigrants and international students are often unsure how to access SNAP benefits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Smith said eligible individuals generally must have lived in the U.S. for a certain period of time, but the program isn\u2019t limited to citizens. For noncitizens, specific USDA requirements <\/a>must be met.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She also said SNAP isn\u2019t considered a public charge. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services<\/a>, a public charge is a factor that can affect a noncitizen\u2019s immigration status. Being deemed a public charge means an applicant is considered likely to become primarily dependent on federal low-income benefits.<\/p>\n

When assessing eligibility for college students, Smith said there may be additional requirements not present in standard household applications. She said applicants might need to provide extra clarification or documentation about their individual circumstances.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re living with other people, they might ask for letters from them to verify that you are preparing food separately,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s challenging for college students to qualify, but just because there are challenges, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s not worth trying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahmad said students with a meal plan may also qualify for SNAP benefits if they receive fewer than 10 meals per week.<\/p>\n

Lehigh\u2019s campus has two food pantries aimed at alleviating food insecurity among students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yen DeBellis, the director of Lehigh\u2019s Health Advancement and Prevention Strategies, said the goal of the pantries isn\u2019t to replace meal plans but to supplement them. She said the pantries are available to all enrolled students, including graduate students.<\/p>\n

Fresh fruit, perishable items, snacks and gluten-free options are available at the pantries Monday through Friday. There are two locations: one in Johnson Hall and another in Iacocca Hall on the Mountaintop Campus.<\/p>\n

DeBellis said data from last semester showed that 3% of the Lehigh student body accessed the Johnson Hall food pantry, which she oversees. Out of those students, 75% were undergraduates and the remainder were graduate students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said 55% lived on campus and the rest off campus. There were also some meal \u201cswipe-ins\u201d that couldn\u2019t be identified.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the beginning of the year, Lehigh was transitioning into a Transact system, so we had some hiccups with technology,\u201d DeBellis said. \u201cWe had 140 meal swipes that were unidentifiable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blessen Jolobi, \u201827, said many of her friends use the food pantries, particularly for snacks or supplemental items.<\/p>\n

However, she said she doesn\u2019t personally know anyone who needs SNAP benefits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it would be nice to have food stamps, just to have more resources and because the food at Rathbone can sometimes be pretty bad, with the raw chicken and all,\u201d Jolobi said. \u201cI think the food pantry does a good job to serve as a backup, and my friends usually are able to benefit from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeBellis said she\u2019s awaiting results of a grant application submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Education to expand the pantries. To broaden their reach, she said the team has collaborated with Lehigh Dining on a chef series showcasing creative ways students can supplement their meal plans with pantry items.<\/p>\n

Ahmad said the Lehigh Student Senate plans to hold one-on-one advising sessions in the future to help students complete SNAP applications.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt (student) senate, we want to advocate and create a supportive and empathetic community where every student feels seen and heard,\u201d Ahmad said. \u201cAnd that means just making sure that students\u2019 needs are met in terms of facilities and services.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Tuesday evening, the Lehigh Student Senate collaborated with Lehigh Valley Community Action to discuss SNAP benefits for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120172,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[7192,6223,153,155,154,1756,1515],"class_list":{"0":"post-120171","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-5-min-read","9":"tag-analysis","10":"tag-bethlehem","11":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","12":"tag-bethlehem-news","13":"tag-events","14":"tag-food"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}