According to
this article, there's a sharp rise in college students using food banks and food stamps because they can't afford to eat.
Struggling College Students Turn to Food Banks
Whitney Malkin, of The Associated Press, reports: "Just blocks from the University of Washington, a line of people shuffle toward a food pantry, awaiting handouts such as milk and bread. For years, the small University District pantry has offered help to the working poor and single parents in this neighborhood of campus rentals. Now rising food prices are bringing another group: Struggling college students. 'Right now, with things the way they are, a lot of students just can't afford to eat,' said Terry Capleton, who started a Facebook group called 'I Ain't Afraid to be on Food Stamps' when he was a student at Benedict College in South Carolina."
Ordinarily these programs are used by the working poor, the elderly, and single parents -- people often marginalized in America. College students are mostly young adults who can afford higher education. They're the rising stars. The fact that they're running into such serious obstacles to basic personal survival is a sign of severe social malfunction.