Basic Needs Initiatives at Texas Community College Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Changes in Service Offerings during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Figures & data

Table 1. List of basic needs initiatives

Category	Specific BNIs
Food, Housing, and Transportation BNIs	Meal Planning/Preparation Training or Workshops Emergency Housing Assistance
	Free or Subsidized Transportation To and From Campus
	Subsidized Meal Plans
	Free Meals/Vouchers
	On-Campus Food Bank or Pantry
Childcare and Clothing BNIs	After-School Care for Students’ Children)
	Preschool Care for Students’ Children
	Free Business Clothing for Job Interviews or Jobs
	Free Everyday Clothing for General Use
Financial, Employment, and Social Service BNIs	Financial Planning and/or Budgeting Training or Workshops Employment Opportunities for Students
	Emergency Financial Assistance to Help with Bills
	Referrals to Community Services Agencies
	Help Applying To Public Services such as WIC or SNAP
Physical and Mental Health BNIs	Physical Health Services On-Campus Physical Health Referral to Off-campus Low or No Cost Providers
	Mental Health Services On-Campus
	Mental Health Referral to Off-campus Low or No Cost Providers

Table 2. Total basic needs initiatives before and during pandemic

	Minimum	Maximum	Mean	Standard Deviation	n
Total Number of BNIs at College Before Pandemic	5	17	11.6	3.55	22
Total Number of BNIs at College During the Pandemic	5	18	11	3.44	23
Change in BNIs From Before to During the Pandemic	−5	3	−0.62	1.77	21

Figure 1. Total number of basic needs initiatives per institution before and during the pandemic.

Table 3. Changes in basic needs initiatives before to during pandemic

Basic Needs Initiative Area	Prior to the Pandemic (n = 24)		During the Pandemic (n = 24)
	Frequency	Percent	Frequency	Percent	Percent Change
Free meals or meal vouchers	11	47.8%	10	41.7%	−6.1%
On-campus food bank or pantry	20	83.3%	16	66.7%	−16.6%*
Subsidized meal plans	3	12.5%	3	12.5%	0.0%
Financial assistance	17	70.8%	22	91.7%	+20.9%**
Referrals to community services	23	95.8%	23	95.8%	0.0%
Help applying for public services	14	58.3%	14	58.3%	0.0%
Employ students	23	95.8%	24	100.0%	+4.2%
After-school childcare	6	25.0%	5	20.8%	−4.2%
Preschool childcare	14	58.3%	9	39.1%	−19.2%*
Emergency housing	13	54.2%	13	54.2%	0.0%
Transportation	15	62.5%	15	62.5%	0.0%
Business clothing	16	66.7%	9	37.5%	−29.2%**
Everyday clothing	6	25.0%	5	20.8%	−4.2%
Financial planning and training	21	87.5%	19	79.2%	−8.3%
Meal planning and training	8	33.0%	7	29.2%	−3.8%
On-campus mental health services	21	87.5%	21	87.5%	0.0%
Mental health referrals	21	87.5%	23	95.8%	+8.3%
On-campus physical health services	6	25.0%	7	29.2%	+4.2%
Physical health referrals	20	83.3%	20	83.3%	0.0%

McNamer Change *p < 0.10 **p <.05.