Building Food Security Coalitions to Address Hunger in Higher Education

ABSTRACT In this article, we share the process of establishing a food security coalition to address college student hunger. Food insecurity amongst students at US institutions of higher education is higher than the general US population. At our institution, a 2024 university‐wide survey found that 49.7% of students experienced low to very low food insecurity. These figures demand that measures to address food insecurity go beyond emergency food pantries to address underlying institutional structures. Based on our experiences of coalition‐building and community‐based participatory research, we discuss the benefits of campus food security coalitions, which include bringing together stakeholders to share material and immaterial resources, creating new knowledge and approaches, and training students in disciplinary and interdisciplinary research. A key challenge is maintaining coalitions while leadership and membership overturn. We urge centering student voices and strategically including university leadership so that the coalition can contribute to and critique decision‐making at the institution's highest levels.