Assessing SNAP resources at U.S. Four-year institutions: Prevalence, predictors, and misalignment with student economic need

OBJECTIVE: To assess SNAP resource prevalence at U.S. four-year institutions and examine whether institutional characteristics and student economic need predict availability. PARTICIPANTS: A national sample of 481 U.S. four-year institutions of higher education. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional systematic website review (July 2023-July 2025), documenting six SNAP resource types and using Poisson regression to examine predictors. RESULTS: Nearly 40% of institutions provide no SNAP resources. Passive resources were most common (external links: 57%; general information: 48%); resources requiring greater investment were rare (coordinators: 15%; on-campus SNAP/EBT acceptance: 7%; screening tools: 6%; partnerships: 5%). Institution size, public control, and region predict SNAP resources; Pell grant enrollment does not. State hunger-free campus policies are associated with coordinator availability only. CONCLUSIONS: SNAP resources may not be distributed based on student need. Addressing this potential misalignment requires federal eligibility reform, stronger state policies, and institutional commitment at under-resourced institutions.