By Briana Vannozzi

(EXCERPT)

The results of the study were the focus of an event Wednesday at Bergen Community, featuring students, representatives of the Hope Center and state officials.

“I’ve heard this when I would do student roundtables,” said Zakiya Smith Ellis, the commissioner for Higher Education in Gov. Phil Murphy’s cabinet. “Students would mention sleeping in their cars … not knowing where their next meal is going to come from. So to have some real data behind it, this really matches what we’ve heard on the ground.”

Others, too, said the findings of the study matched their experience.

“We know for example students of color, returning college students, student parents all have higher rates of housing and food insecurity,” said Rosa Garcia of the Center for Law and Social Policy, a think tank focused on the needs of low-income people.

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