U of Illinois to host conference on college student hunger

URBANA, Ill. (AP) - The University of Illinois will hold a conference focusing on the problem of hunger in college students.

Agricultural engineering professor Prasanta Kalita organized the effort to bring the Presidents United to Solve Hunger conference to the Urbana-Champaign campus in March of next year. Kalita said the conference is expected to draw up to 350 university leaders and students.

The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports (https://bit.ly/2tuxcWW ) that officials say hunger in college students is linked to rising college costs and changing campus demographics due to more first-generation college students who have more financial struggles.

Presidents United to Solve Hunger started in 2014 as a partnership between U.S. land-grant universities and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

Several food pantries have opened in recent years at the university and Parkland College.

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Information from: The News-Gazette, https://www.news-gazette.com