College student participation rates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are low, and federal, state, and local decisionmakers are examining different approaches to expanding college student access to SNAP. In this report, the authors aim to provide these decisionmakers with evidence on four different options for expanding SNAP eligibility and participation among college students.

Levers for Increasing College Student Access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Evidence from Colorado

Brian Phillips, Lindsay Daugherty, Min Jung Kim, Jonathan H. Cantor, Jennifer Kret, Michael Vente

ResearchPublished Jun 11, 2026

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Approximately one in four college students face food insecurity, which is associated with negative health and academic outcomes. As the largest public nutritional program in the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one important resource that states and colleges can use to support low-income college students. Yet SNAP eligibility rules for college students are complex, and only a small proportion of eligible students participate.

The aim of this report is to inform decisionmakers at the federal, state, and local levels who are considering efforts to expand SNAP participation among college students. The authors used statewide administrative data from Colorado to examine historical trends in SNAP participation among college students and then estimated how four different approaches might expand SNAP participation. They found that efforts to broaden student eligibility—either through federal changes to student eligibility rules or state agencies’ use of their authorities to interpret student eligibility rules—would increase SNAP participation by a larger amount than such efforts as statewide outreach or college-level case management support that leave student eligibility rules unchanged.

The authors provide additional methodological details and results for their analyses in a technical annex.

Key Takeaways

  • In 2024, nearly one in ten college students in Colorado (19,400 students) participated in SNAP.
  • Only 37 percent of those who were likely to be eligible for SNAP participated.
  • Federal or state eligibility expansions would have the largest impact on college student SNAP participation. Federal eligibility changes could increase Colorado college students’ SNAP participation rates by up to 2.5 percentage points (5,300 students). State-level eligibility changes could increase participation by approximately 1.6 percentage points (3,300 students).
  • Outreach and case management support for currently eligible students would have more modest impacts. SNAP participation could increase by approximately 0.3 percentage points (700 students) with statewide outreach and 0.2 percentage points (475 students) if additional colleges adopt high-quality case management.
  • By combining state eligibility expansions with outreach and case management, Colorado could increase SNAP participation rates by approximately 2 percentage points (more than 4,000 students).
  • Even with changes to eligibility, outreach, and case management support, many eligible college students will not participate, suggesting that a variety of approaches may be necessary to address college student food insecurity.

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Phillips, Brian, Lindsay Daugherty, Min Jung Kim, Jonathan H. Cantor, Jennifer Kret, and Michael Vente, Levers for Increasing College Student Access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Evidence from Colorado. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2026. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA4846-1.html.
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This work was sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences and conducted in the Education and Employment Program of RAND Education, Employment, and Infrastructure.

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