Pros And Cons Of A Community College

Students who attend top-notch universities have access to meal plans that fit in with their financial aid, while students that attend community colleges do not have the ability to have financial assistance when they purchase food from a cafeteria, which leaves many students hungry and struggling with their academic standing and overall well-being. According to Matt Reed, “Students who are distracted by hunger can’t focus as well as students who are fed.” (Confessions of a Community College Dean) This is in fact both an academic standing and an overall well-being issue for students. Which further brings the question of why isn’t there something in place for these students left in the shadows? Sara Goldrick-Rab expands on this topic while offering

According to a new report from Wisconsin HOPE lab in 2017, “Out of 70 community colleges in 24 U.S. states, 14 percent of those students are food secure and half are also housing insecure.” (The Atlantic: A Striking Number of College Students Are Homeless and Hungry) Putting two and two together many students as stated do not have a permanent home along with lacking the financial means of even providing themselves with basic nutrition. It’s later brought up how most community colleges this day in age have the technology that permits students to purchase food via their student IDs which allows students who have free lunch to be able to purchase their meals without being stigmatized. This in turn leads to the idea of linking free lunches to students who intend to stay and show up to class. Which makes these students have a higher chance at success despite their

Imagine that your body is a car and that food is gasoline. Without it we literally start to lag, feel light-headed, and are at risk of experiencing severe health issues. According to a blog on the effects of hunger on the body, “Due to the lack of essential nutrients, vitamins, protein and minerals, severe and continuous hunger can inhibit the brain from developing cognitively, socially and emotionally, all of which affect an individual’s ability to read, concentrate, memorize and even speak.” (The Borgen Project: The Effects of Hunger) A car can’t run without gasoline, right? The same goes for the body. “Growing up food-insecure has consequences even beyond K-12 education. Research shows that workers who experienced hunger as children are not as well prepared physically, mentally, emotionally or socially to perform effectively in the contemporary workforce.” (Food for Thought: How Food Insecurity Affects a Child’s Education) Which goes to further explain why many students that are food insecure drop-out of school and are more likely to have problems academically. In conclusion, if a free-lunch program or financial assistance with meals were promised to food insecure students with the requirement that they must stay enrolled in school than those students would be more likely