The Student Basic Needs Coalition started at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2019. The group originally formed to advocate for solutions to student food insecurity, but quickly found that students on their campus and campuses across the country were facing access issues to food, housing, health, and safety that were causing them to not finish school. Around 1 in 3 students never finish their degree and the Federal Government Accountability Office released a report in 2018 that stated, “investment in higher education is at risk if college students drop out because they cannot afford basic necessities.” SBNC works to create student chapters across the country to advocate for financially inclusive education systems at the campus, state, and federal levels.