Food for Thought: Assessing the Experimental Impact of Providing Food Prior to Placement Testing at a Community College

College leaders are increasingly aware that a substantial share of their student body is struggling to make ends meet and lacks adequate nutrition (Broton et al., 2020; U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2018). Recent evidence indicates that approximately half of community college students are food insecure, indicating reductions in the quality or quantity of their diets due to resource constraints (Goldrick-Rab et al., 2019). Scholars have studied food deprivation for well over a century and the effects are well known: weight loss, physical illness, fatigue, irritability, decreased cognitive ability, and mental health problems including depression (e.g., Keys et al., 1950; Paton & Stockman, 1890; Tucker, 2007). In K–12 and higher education settings, food insecurity and hunger are associated with lower levels of academic achievement and attainment (e.g., Henry, 2020; Maroto et al., 2015). Together, the reciprocal and reinforcing relationships between food insecurity and poor physical and mental health can create a negative feedback loop impeding students' ability to reach their full potential which undermines investments in higher education (Cutler & Lleras-Muney, 2006).

Concerned about students' well-being and institutional success, thousands of higher education leaders and practitioners are establishing initiatives like campus food pantries, meal voucher programs, and emergency aid programs to help students meet their basic needs (Broton & Cady, 2020). These interventions are based on human development theory and prior empirical evidence showing that providing K–12 students with food tends to improve student academic performance, including on standardized tests (e.g., Frisvold, 2015; Mahoney et al., 2005; Maslow, 1943; Ptomey et al., 2016). Even short-term interventions, such as increasing the caloric content of school lunches on testing days, have been associated with a boost in shortterm student cognitive performance (Figlio & Winicki, 2005); however, as initiatives to end hunger among college students have grown over the past five years, efforts to evaluate the efficacy of these interventions and their impacts on student success and development have not kept pace. Despite significant investments, we know almost nothing about the causal impact of institutional food interventions in higher education (Goldrick-Rab et al., 2017). Although the intuition of providing food to those who are hungry seems straightforward enough, several rigorous studies do not provide any evidence—likely due to contextual and implementation factors—that food programs improved students' academic performance (McEwan, 2013; Widenhorn-Muller et al., 2008).

We investigated the experimental impact of a Food for Thought initiative at a community college in which a random sample of students were offered food prior to their placement testing session. We compared the test results of those who were offered food to those who were not (i.e., completed the placement tests in a "business as usual" setting). Our analyses do not provide any evidence that the intervention impacted students' math, reading, or English placement test results. Potential explanations for the null findings include implementation challenges, and we share lessons learned.

METHOD

"Midwest Community College" (MCC) is a public 2-year institution located in a major Midwestern city. It serves more than 35,000 students and the average net price is nearly $8,000. It offers short-term credentials, including diplomas, certificates, and associate's degrees, and the majority of students study technical-oriented programs, such as business and health services. Most students come from the local community, which has high rates of poverty and few promising career opportunities for those without a postsecondary credential. Prior studies indicated that food insecurity is a challenge for the majority of MCC students. The college is committed to reducing food insecurity and hunger on campus and has implemented a number of basic needs security interventions, including an emergency grant aid program, in addition to the Food for Thought initiative.

At MCC, all entering students with ACT subject scores below 18 or without ACT scores must take a placement exam (i.e., ACCUPLACER) in math, reading, and/ or English. This means that most first-time students (i.e., 85%–87%) take a placement test. In Summer 2016, MCC offered tests...