The Virginia Foundation for Community College Education (VFCCE) will be expanding statewide efforts to combat food and basic needs insecurity among students at Virginia’s 23 community colleges, thanks to a $100,000 investment from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation.

Nearly half of Virginia's undergraduates attend community colleges, and for many, the cost of food remains a serious obstacle to completing a degree. When students lack reliable access to meals, their academic performance, physical health, and long-term economic opportunity all suffer.

The new funding will advance four priorities: increasing student use of the Single Stop benefits screener, expanding local food partnerships, improving access to healthy foods in campus pantries, and providing direct support for fresh, nutritious food to students in need.

“When students earn a degree, they don't just change their own trajectory — they improve their health, boost their income, and create lasting stability for their families,” said Dr. William A. Hazel, Jr., M.D., who chairs VFCCE’s Board of Directors. “Anthem Foundation's leadership ensures that no student has to sacrifice their education to put food on the table.”

This latest investment builds on a powerful partnership that began in 2018, when support from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation helped launch a coordinated, statewide strategy aimed at alleviating nutritional gaps. That initial funding established and expanded campus food pantries across all 23 colleges. In 2022, the partnership would go on to enable the systemwide adoption of Single Stop, a technology-based benefits screening tool that connects students with public assistance programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, and housing vouchers.

“At Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, we believe health begins with stability — and access to food and basic needs is essential for students to succeed,” said Monica Schmude, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia. “By partnering with the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education, we’re helping ensure students can focus on their education and build stronger futures for themselves and for the Commonwealth.”

How the Funds Will Be Used

Sixty percent of the funding from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation will provide direct student support, helping them access fresh, nutritious food while incentivizing connections to Single Stop advisors. The remainder will be used to expand statewide outreach and strengthen operational capacity through PantrySoft, a pantry management system that improves food quality and inventory tracking while protecting student privacy and dignity.

The partnership between the Anthem Foundation and the VFCCE reflects a common conviction: that access to education — and the basic needs that make it possible — is the foundation of healthier, more prosperous communities.

The Virginia Foundation for Community College Education (VFCCE) is a supporting arm of Virginia’s 23 community colleges. It works to broaden educational access, promote student success, and provide innovative solutions to workforce needs. To ensure access to high quality, affordable education, the VFCCE provides statewide leadership in raising funds for community college education, supplementing the activities of the 23 individual colleges, and advocating for major system-wide initiatives that could not be undertaken by any single college. For more information, please visit https://vfcce.org/.

About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation

The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a philanthropic arm of the Elevance Health Foundation. The Foundation works to improve the health of the socially vulnerable through partnerships and programs in our communities with an emphasis on maternal-infant health; behavioral health; and food as medicine. Additionally, the Foundation also responds to disasters when our communities need us the most. ®ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbol are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. To learn more about the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation and the Elevance Health Foundation, please visit www.elevancehealth.foundation and its blog at www.medium.com/elevancehealthfoundation.

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“At Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, we believe health begins with stability — and access to food and basic needs is essential for students to succeed,” said Monica Schmude, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia.