For years, Compton College has been a forerunner in the push for basic needs support for its students. The community college in Los Angeles offers students one free meal per day, in addition to transit passes, food pantry access and weekly $20 vouchers for its on-campus farmers market. It also has a unique data-sharing agreement with the Los Angeles Department of Public and Social Services to help students sign up for food benefits, and the college plans to open the first community college student housing in L.A. next summer.
Those services were born out of high need: A 2025 #RealCollege survey from the Hope Center for Student Basic Needs at Temple University found that more than half of respondents from the college reported facing food insecurity in the last 30 days. A whopping 68 percent said they’d experienced housing insecurity in the last year.
But some supports for those students will soon have strings attached. Starting in fall 2027, Compton is launching a controversial new plan that ties some basic needs supports to academic requirements, in the hopes of upping completion rates at the college. Compton leaders say the goal is to incentivize students to take steps toward completion, graduate them more quickly and reduce the number of students reliant on these resources year to year, making it easier for the college to continue to afford providing services to other students. But some basic needs experts worry the move will deter financially strapped students from accessing food supports.
