A study undertaken by a consortium of leading institutions (nationwide) published a startling fact sheet earlier Today. According to the empirical data they compiled, at least half (on average) of America's college-level students can't afford to buy themselves food. The survey lists this inability to procure basic needs and resources as a "food insecurity," which the researchers went on to categorize as a "limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food, or the ability to acquire such food in a socially acceptable manner."
A good example of a "food insecurity" occurs when say, a student semi-consciously skips out on a meal due to preconceived notions (informed by a dire lack of funds nonetheless). Another 56 % of the students that were surveyed listed themselves as "housing insecure," while a startling 17% of respondents claim they experienced homelessness while pursuing post-secondary education.
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NPR's MarketWatch explained this social deviation by a series of factors. Most obvious to note is a noticeable spike in the price of food, and in the rental market. Mind you, the single most difficult hurdle Americans face during their collegiate years (current and always) are the exorbitant tuition fees students are being asked to shoulder in the form of crippling student loans. If this is study is any indication, these economic pressures seem to begin well before the penultimate phase of their undergraduate diplomas. As crazy as it sounds given these athletes take in their pro career, scholarship-eligible recruits aren't exempt from these problems either, explained in part by the countless "recruitment scandals" plaguing the NCAA.