Nobody Talks About Food Insecurity in Veterinary Medicine. We Need to Start.

There is a version of this profession that looks, from the outside, like it has everything figured out. Scrubs pressed, stethoscope around the neck, saving lives every day. What that image leaves out is the part where some of those same people are skipping meals, stretching groceries to the end of the week, or choosing between gas to get to clinics and food to eat when they get home.

Food insecurity in veterinary medicine is not new. But in 2026, with grocery prices still sitting well above where they were three years ago and gas costs continuing to eat into already-thin margins, it is getting harder for more people than ever before. Vet students on fixed stipends. Technicians earning wages that have not kept pace with inflation. New graduates carrying six-figure debt into entry-level salaries. The math is not working for a lot of people in this profession right now, and the silence around it is making it worse.

This article is for anyone who is struggling. You are not alone, and you do not have to figure this out by yourself.

Why this is so hard to talk about

Veterinary medicine attracts people who are used to being capable. You got into vet school, or you built a career in a demanding clinical environment, because you work hard and you push through. That same drive that makes you good at your job can make it almost impossible to admit that you are having a hard time meeting basic needs. There is shame wrapped around food insecurity that does not belong there, and in a profession full of high achievers it can feel especially isolating.

It is also worth naming something specific to vet students: you chose a path that requires years of full-time education, often with limited ability to work, in a program that is physically and emotionally exhausting. Struggling financially during that time is not a personal failure. It is a structural reality of how this profession is built, and it deserves to be treated that way.

What is actually happening with prices right now

The USDA's most recent food price data shows grocery costs remain significantly elevated compared to pre-pandemic baselines, with proteins, dairy, and fresh produce among the hardest-hit categories. For someone buying food on a student budget or a technician's salary in a high cost-of-living city, those increases are not abstract. They show up at the register every single week. Transportation costs compound the problem. A vet student driving to an externship site, or a technician commuting to a practice that is not near public transit, is absorbing fuel costs that have no reimbursement attached to them.

The result is a quiet financial squeeze that affects real people doing real work in this profession every day.

Where to go for help

The most important thing to know is that resources exist, and using them is not something to be ashamed of. Here is where to start.

Your veterinary school's student affairs office is the first call. Many schools have emergency funds, food pantry partnerships, or connections to local resources that are specifically available to enrolled students. If you do not know what your school offers, ask. Those funds exist because the people who created them understood that students sometimes need support that goes beyond academic advising.

Campus food pantries are available at most universities and are typically open to all enrolled students with no income verification required. Usage has increased significantly across higher education in recent years, which means the stigma around them is shifting. Many operate on a no-questions-asked model.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, is a federal program that provides monthly benefits for groceries based on income and household size. Veterinary students and low-income veterinary professionals may qualify depending on their financial situation. Eligibility can be checked and applications submitted at benefits.gov or through your state's social services agency. Many people who qualify for SNAP do not apply because they assume they will not be eligible or because the application feels overwhelming. It is worth checking.

211 is a free, confidential helpline available in most of the United States that connects people to local food banks, pantries, emergency assistance programs, and other community resources. You can call or text 211, or visit 211.org to search by zip code. This is one of the most underutilized resources available and one of the most useful.

Feeding America operates a network of more than 200 food banks across the country. Their website at feedingamerica.org includes a food bank locator that will show you what is available in your area. Food banks serve people across a wide range of income levels, and you do not have to be at a crisis point to use them.

The Not One More Vet organization, known as NOMV, exists specifically to support the mental and emotional wellbeing of veterinary professionals, and their network and peer support community can be a bridge to finding help. If financial stress is affecting your mental health, which it often does, they are a resource worth knowing. Find them at nomv.org.

For vet students specifically, the Student American Veterinary Medical Association maintains resources and connections to support programs at the national level, and your local SAVMA chapter may have its own initiatives. Reach out to your chapter leadership and ask what exists.

A few practical things that actually help

Meal planning around sales and buying staples in bulk when possible sounds obvious, but it makes a real difference on a tight budget. Dried beans, lentils, rice, oats, eggs, and frozen vegetables are among the most affordable and nutritionally complete foods available and they stretch further than most convenience alternatives. Apps like Flashfood and Too Good To Go sell surplus food from grocery stores and restaurants at steep discounts and are available in many cities. Local Facebook groups and community boards often post about free food events, surplus produce shares, and mutual aid distributions that do not require any formal enrollment or verification.

If you have access to a kitchen and even a small amount of time, batch cooking on a day off can dramatically reduce the cost and stress of eating during a heavy clinical week. It does not have to be complicated. A pot of soup or a tray of roasted vegetables made once can carry you through several days.

To the practices and programs reading this

Food insecurity among your staff and students is a retention issue, a wellness issue, and a culture issue. Practices that want to attract and keep good people need to look honestly at whether their compensation and support structures are meeting the actual cost of living in their area. Vet schools that want to graduate resilient, healthy clinicians need to invest in the infrastructure that makes that possible. The Vet Candy Food Share program exists because we believe this is a community responsibility, not an individual failing.

If you are a practice owner or program director, ask the question. Create the space for people to answer honestly. And then do something about what you hear.

You belong in this profession.

Whatever is happening with your bank account or your refrigerator right now, it does not change that. Ask for help. Use the resources. Let someone in your community show up for you the way you show up for your patients every single day.

You are not alone in this.

Resources at a glance:

SNAP eligibility and application: benefits.gov

Food bank locator: feedingamerica.org

Local resource helpline: call or text 211, or visit 211.org

Surplus food apps: Flashfood, Too Good To Go

Student support: your school's student affairs office and SAVMA chapter