Anthem Foundation Invests $100K to Address Community College Food Insecurity in Virginia

Event summary

  • The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation is providing $100,000 to the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education (VFCCE).
  • The funding will expand existing programs addressing food and basic needs insecurity among students at Virginia’s 23 community colleges.
  • This investment builds on a partnership that began in 2018, initially establishing campus food pantries and later enabling systemwide adoption of the Single Stop benefits screening tool.
  • Sixty percent of the funds will directly support students, while the remainder will bolster outreach and operational capacity via PantrySoft.
  • Nearly half of Virginia's undergraduates attend community colleges, highlighting the scale of the issue.

The big picture

This investment reflects a growing recognition of the link between basic needs security and educational attainment, particularly within the community college sector. Anthem's focus on 'food as medicine' aligns with broader trends in healthcare and social determinants of health. The $100,000 investment, while relatively modest, signals a willingness by corporations to address systemic issues impacting student success and workforce development.

What we're watching

Program Effectiveness
The success of this investment hinges on VFCCE’s ability to demonstrably improve student food security and correlate it with academic outcomes; a lack of clear metrics could limit future funding.
Scalability
How effectively PantrySoft and Single Stop can be scaled across all 23 community colleges will determine the long-term impact and potential for replication in other states.
Funding Sustainability
The reliance on Anthem’s philanthropic arm creates a risk; VFCCE will need to diversify funding sources to ensure the long-term viability of these programs.