Student Basic Needs Coalition

Campus Engagement: In 2025, SBNC expanded its campus engagement efforts to support colleges in connecting students to resources that meet their basic needs through a competitive national application process that selected more than 30 colleges and universities to participate in peer navigator training and technical assistance. Student peer navigators conducted outreach activities including tabling, workshops, classroom presentations, and digital campaigns to increase awareness of resources such as SNAP, campus food pantries, emergency aid, and NAVVY while reducing stigma around accessing support. The program benefited college students experiencing food or financial insecurity as well as campus administrators seeking scalable strategies to improve student retention and resource utilization, serving institutions nationwide with an emphasis on community colleges and public institutions. Thousands of students were reached through peer-led outreach activities, and participating campuses strengthened their capacity to sustain basic needs programming, representing an expansion of SBNCs campus engagement services in 2025.

State Engagement: In 2025, SBNC continued and expanded its state engagement work across the Great Lakes region by supporting collaboration among higher education institutions, students, and state agencies to improve awareness of public benefits and strengthen implementation practices that help eligible college students access available resources. SBNC facilitated participation of students and campus representatives in statewide working groups and advisory bodies focused on improving coordination between colleges and public benefit systems. The program benefited college students eligible for public benefits as well as higher education and agency partners seeking effective strategies to increase utilization of existing supports, serving Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Outcomes included increased cross-sector coordination, improved dissemination of benefits information to students, and expanded institutional capacity to connect students with available assistance, reflecting continued expansion of SBNCs state engagement activities in 2025.