Eastern Kentucky University to begin accepting SNAP benefits on campus

Eastern Kentucky University has introduced SNAP benefit usage at its Stratton POD convenience store on campus in order to help students who are experiencing food insecurity. It is the first university in the state of Kentucky to offer this to its students. The school expects to expand the availability of SNAP benefit usage to other on-campus convenience stores in the future as it continues to strive to be the School of Opportunity.

According to an article on Eastern Kentucky University’s website, David McFaddin, university president, is quoted as saying of the implementation of on-campus SNAP benefits, “Part of being the School of Opportunity is making sure that students have access to basic needs and resources to support their personal and educational success. By becoming the first university in Kentucky to accept SNAP benefits on campus, we are keeping our promise to make higher education affordable and accessible for our region and the Commonwealth as a whole.”

SNAP is an initiative of the US Department of Agriculture that helps low-income families by supplementing their grocery budget in order to pay for “staple” items like milk, eggs, and bread. In order for the on-campus convenience store to be SNAP compliant, it had to offer staple items like cereal, pasta, and fruit. Eastern Kentucky University worked with Aramark, its food service provider, to make sure the POD was in compliance. Aramark currently works with 18 other schools that offer SNAP benefit usage on campus. Students with SNAP benefits can purchase any food items POD offers.

Steve Caudill, who serves as the the chief auxiliary services officer at Eastern Kentucky University, said that the inspiration for beginning the process of allowing students to use their SNAP benefits on campus stemmed from a 2023 Food Security Forum. 

“We noticed some discussion about low food security on campus. We wanted to show that we’re listening and wanted to provide extra resources on campus for students, faculty and staff,” Caudill said. He continued, “We believe this will improve food accessibility for students, faculty and staff who have or can sign up for SNAP benefits. Everyone involved at EKU Dining hopes that this will become a trend within our state to push other schools to get the available resources to provide SNAP for their campuses here in Kentucky and surrounding areas.”

For more information about Eastern Kentucky University, visit the school’s website.