Join Sustain Penn State as we kick off our annual Intersections sustainability film series with a screening of Geeta Gandbhir’s Hungry to Learn on Wednesday, September 30, 7 p.m. (EDT), online.

As of 2024, 41% of college students are food insecure and 48% are housing insecure. When so much of the focus of college is on how students perform in the classroom, these problems may be invisible to those to faculty or fellow students but they have big impacts on student success in the classroom and beyond. In Hungry to Learn, we follow several students at three northeastern universities beyond the classroom where we see the struggles of everyday life while paying for a college degree. They are faced with a difficult decision: pay for college (and hopefully open doors for lucrative professional opportunities) or take care of your basic needs. From cutting corners on nutrition to not knowing where they will sleep at night, this film gives a glimpse into the struggles too many college students are experiencing. It demands that we redefine how we measure student success.

But the good news is that Hungry to Learn also shows that there is a growing effort by universities and colleges to support students facing food and housing insecurity. As students break through the stigmas about these problems and share their stories, more people are recognizing their needs.  But will this support be enough? Join us as we kick off our year of programming themed around Seeing the Human Scale, by seeing the real-life stories of students behind the statistics.

Following the film, we will hold a panel discussion with experts on nutrition, student success, and housing insecurity, featuring:

• Sarah Brothers, Assistant Professor in Sociology and Criminology, Penn State
• Kelly Griffith, Director, Penn State Chaiken Center for Student Success
• Liesha McKinley, Food & Culinary Literacy Educator, Student Farm at Penn State

Free and open to all; pre-registration is required at this registration link.