College students in New York City are facing significant food insecurity, exacerbated by rising costs and federal program uncertainties. The newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani has proposed city-run grocery stores and other affordability measures to address the crisis. These initiatives aim to provide stable access to affordable food for students and families.
Food insecurity affects nearly half of students in the City University of New York system, with 2019 reports indicating that 50 percent were food insecure. Food costs have increased by more than 30 percent over the last decade, and over 40 percent of families cannot afford the median weekly grocery price. This leads to lower grade point averages, poorer mental health, and reduced graduation rates among students.
Steven Gray, a Columbia Law School student and former Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipient, described SNAP benefits as providing not just food but future stability. Gray noted the chaos during a government shutdown on October 1, when uncertainties around SNAP funding left over 3 million eligible college students worried about meals. "We shouldn’t be waving around SNAP benefits and other social benefits as political bargaining chips," Gray said.
Campus pantries have stepped up amid these challenges. At City College of New York, Benny’s Food Pantry, overseen by senior vice president Dee Dee Mozeleski, distributed more than 30,000 pounds of food last year and handled 12,000 visits since August 2025. Preparation for potential shutdowns involved bulking up supplies in August. "The first thing you see is a heightened sense of fear on campus," Mozeleski said. Funding comes from City Council allocations, private donations, and community partnerships, with many volunteers from New York City Housing Authority residences.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who took office recently, has prioritized affordability. As a former State Assembly member, he advocated for increased funding for free school meals and undertook a 15-day hunger strike for taxicab drivers. Mamdani proposes city-owned grocery stores in each borough, selling at wholesale prices for an estimated $60 million, backed by two-thirds of voters. "The job of city government is not to tinker around the edges while one in four children across our city go hungry," Mamdani stated. A November meeting with President Donald Trump yielded positive discussions on lowering grocery prices.
Dr. Celina Su, a member of Mamdani’s transition team, views such stores as feasible, fostering community engagement. The broader affordability crisis includes childcare costs rising nearly 80 percent since 2019, which Mamdani aims to tackle with universal free childcare for children aged six weeks to five years, costing billions. Governor Kathy Hochul and Mamdani announced a roadmap to expand access for two-year-olds by the 2028–29 school year.
Kate MacKenzie, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy, supports Food Forward NYC, a 10-year plan for an equitable food system by 2030. "No New Yorker should experience the challenges of struggling between paying rent and feeding their families," MacKenzie said. Efforts include expanding CUNY collaborations on pantries and programs like CUNY Cares. At Hunter College, the Purple Apron Pantry saw 3,500 visits from late August to early November 2025, up from 8,000 for all of 2024, prompting expansions like additional staff and storage.
Upcoming changes to SNAP, requiring 80 hours of monthly work starting March 2026, may further complicate access for students. Advocates suggest enhancing on-campus SNAP enrollment, school pantries, and meals for the 1 million K-12 and 240,000 CUNY students.
