Dive Brief:

• Colleges should immediately reach out to students who qualify for federal food benefits and help them enroll before a COVID-19-era expansion to the program expires, according to new guidance released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education.
• During the pandemic, emergency government aid opened the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to all college students enrolled at least half-time who were eligible for work-study programs or had an expected family contribution of $0. 
• The Education Department is now urging higher ed institutions to connect their students to SNAP resources before the expansion ends in the coming weeks.

Dive Insight:

Under normal circumstances, college students are ineligible for SNAP by default and must prove eligibility through a complicated list of qualifications. The 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act dramatically simplified the rules during the COVID-19 crisis, circumventing many of the hoops students traditionally had to jump through.

Researchers have found the complexity of the standard SNAP application leads to eligible students missing out on support. One study also found that food-insecure students performed worse in the classroom than their counterparts.

While many advocates pushed for the pandemic-era expansions to be made permanent, the proposal lacked legislative support.

The public health emergency that allows for the expansion will come to an end May 11. But state agencies must process first-time SNAP applications received by June 9 under the expanded coverage, according to the Education Department. Recertification applications, for students whose SNAP benefits end in April through June, will also be accepted until June 30.

As such, colleges should organize a targeted outreach campaign to notify eligible students of the upcoming changes to SNAP and help them apply — or reapply — before time runs out, according to the new guidance.

The department encouraged the use of Free Application for Federal Student Aid data in student outreach and application support. FAFSA forms show students' work-study eligibility and expected family contribution, a metric that will be replaced beginning in the 2024-25 academic year.

In addition, colleges should analyze their student work policies to ensure they align with the traditional SNAP requirements, according to the guidance. Under normal benefits qualifications, one way students can gain eligibility is to enroll in a work-study program. But even with eligibility, students aren't guaranteed a work-study spot.