Monroe Community College is doing its part to make sure college students have regular access to affordable food by hosting the first SUNY Conference on Food Insecurity.

SUNY officials said their survey of about 11,000 students found that about 35 to 40 percent of them reported being food insecure.

They add those numbers are on track with a recent survey by Temple University of other college students nationwide.

Besides the risks to health, that can impact a student's ability to do well academically.

The conference Wednesday reviewed how SUNY colleges try to address basic needs of students and if there can be improvement.

"Just be general definition of 'food insecure,' it doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have food altogether,” said Brendan Calunel, a SUNY Student Assembly Representative Coordinator. “It could just mean that just this week, your check hasn't come in from your job and you may need to stop by the food pantry to get something to eat for lunch. So it's prevalent on college campuses and it's great that we're addressing it now."

All 64 SUNY campuses have food pantries.

SUNY officials said they're also starting to partner with food banks as well.