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.
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.
