A new study shows students attending two-year colleges are at greater risk of food insecurity than students attending four-year colleges.
Researchers with the Urban Institute looked at data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that measures food insecurity across roughly 50,000 households.
Nearly one in five households with a two-year college student were identified as food insecure from 2011 to 2015.
Ivy Tech Vice President of Student Services Anne Valentine says she is not surprised by the study's findings.
"We've been working on ways to provide wrap-around services system-wide throughout the state knowing that addressing food insecurity is a need for many, many of our students," Valentine says.
Ivy Tech currently has food pantries and food bank programs on seven campuses across the state.
Valentine says student leaders worked this past academic year to improve Ivy Tech's support services and address food insecurity in the school's developing strategic plan.