Oregon State University
IN-25: Innovation B

Oregon State University was the first campus to participate in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. SNAP participants are now able to purchase food staples at Cascadia Market in the International Living-Learning Center on the OSU campus, using their Oregon Trail cards. The new program is just one way the university is combating the issue of food insecurity among college students, which is a growing national problem. An OSU research study in 2014 found that 59 percent of students at a nearby Oregon university were food insecure at some point during the previous year, meaning they lacked the ability to acquire nutritionally adequate and safe foods. Students may be eligible for SNAP based on their income levels, and if they also meet other requirements, including working at least 20 hours a week, having dependent children, or taking part in a state or federally financed work-study program. A complete list of requirements is listed online at http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/students. It’s taken several years for Cascadia Market to become SNAP eligible, due to stringent requirements on what types and quantities of staple foods such as meats, dairy and vegetables a shop must sell in order to qualify. There were also technological difficulties with sales hardware that made using SNAP too difficult for clerks and customers. University officials were notified in August 2015 that they met the federal requirements for SNAP, and the system was established and tested with help from volunteer students who were SNAP eligible. Officials said they hope Cascadia Market will become a model for other locations. Additionally, OSU was invited to participate in the Hope Lab #RealCollege conference to share our service efforts with policymakers and researchers. The overarching goal of the #RealCollege convening is to create connections between service providers, policymakers, and researchers to reduce food and housing insecurity among undergraduates to improve their odds of college completion, in turn reducing inequality. More information on this event can be found in the attachment to this credit. More info available at http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2016/jan/osu-participation-snap-help-improve-student-food-access and http://kval.com/news/local/market-on-oregon-state-campus-now-accepts-snap

Thanks to Tara Sanders of University Housing & Dining Services for providing this information.