About Basic Needs
About Us
Supporting Students, Holistically
At CWU, our team is committed to assisting students in receiving support to ensure their holistic wellbeing in higher education. Our goal is to remove barriers that students face when seeking assistance through education support, programming, and outreach.
Our Vision
Every Wildcat has access to consistent and accessible resources supporting their holistic well-being, fostering confidence in fulfilling their basic needs and ensuring personal, academic, and professional success.Hunger-Free & Basic Needs Strategic Plan
Central Washington University has crafted this strategic plan to implement long-term support systems to facilitate student success and well-being.
Read our plan!What is Basic Needs?
Basic needs insecurity is the lack of access to adequate housing, food, health care, mental health services, child care, technology accessibility, transportation. Our team works to support students experiencing basic needs insecurities through collaboration, referrals, programming, and more.
“...Basic needs insecurity is a structural issue, not an individual characteristic or shortcoming. People face basic needs insecurity when the “ecosystem” of support is not in place, not because of a personal decision or action.” (Henry& Beecher, 2021).
Basic Needs Statistics
The Washington State Achievement Council (WSAC) partnered with two and four year institutions to distribute the Post Secondary Basic Needs Survey, the following data is from this survey.
This survey is conducted every two years, be on the lookout for the next survey in Fall 2024!
WA State Statistics
- Students of color represented half of the students served. Fifty-one percent of the students
served in the SSEH pilot program were students of color. This data point echoes national and
state data showing that Black/African American, Native American/Alaska Native, and
Hispanic/Latinx students are disproportionately experiencing homelessness and housing
insecurity. - Food insecurity was common. Eighty percent of the students served were experiencing food
insecurity, yet only 47% were known to be receiving Basic Food (SNAP) benefits. - A majority of students served were female. Of the students served by the SSEH pilot, 68% of
community and technical college students and 60% of university students identified as
female. - The average age differed depending on the institution. Community and technical college
students tended to be older, with 69% 25 or older, while most university students were under
25 years old (65%).
For the full report, Executive Summary and Full Report.
CWU News
CWU Disability Services aims to provide equitable access to education
February 23, 2026 by Rune Torgersen
CWU faculty member awarded Fulbright post-doctoral scholarship
February 23, 2026 by David Leder