Food Insecurity Threatens Millions Seeking Meaningful Work

Greetings from Washington, D.C.

On Wednesday, college-bound high school seniors including my daughter announced to the world their college destinations. It’s an important milestone in their lives; over the four years past, this high school graduating class of 2019 focused so much effort on realizing their dreams of a great college education that leads to meaningful work. All of the worry, sacrifice, and money spent in SAT or ACT test prep, working with college placement consultants, and out-of-town campus-visit travel, culminated on May 1 in a joyous celebration during which high school corridors filled with rising college freshman donning their new school colors.

But according to a sobering story in yesterday’s New York Times, nearly half of them will, at college, go hungry. The joy I felt for my daughter’s college decision is now tempered with the depressing realization that she will likely know someone — maybe several at her college — who will choose between required textbooks and food.

Student food banks at many institutions, including my alma mater, are now a thing. And the term food insecurity has come to describe a…