I don't know about other states, but college is free for most community college students and many state college students and even many UC students. I think this is true for most states. Tuition grants are not uncommon. Private schools tend to dispense loans instead, although many of the better ones do tuition relief as well.
Financial aid packages beyond tuition and fees really vary and are typically loans. The Academic Senates of many colleges have taken stances on discouraging students from running up debt to pay for living expenses, such as food. I certainly discourage it - because the loan checks are far larger than they need, they lack the self-discipline to return most of the money, etc.
At any rate, more than 25% of my students report food issues. We do some food diary work in the lab, and some of them are seriously protein deficient. 60% on any given day did not have breakfast and many have gone 12 hours without eating (or as long as 24 hours) at the time of the exercise.
