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Student hunger on campus: food Insecurity among college students and Implications for academic Institutions
In this 2018 study, 237 undergraduate students from a large mid-Atlantic university were questioned on demographics, student status, economic factors, housing stability, living arrangements, academic performance, and self-rated physical health and depression symptoms. In addition, the researchers assessed the participants’ food security to identify factors that may put students at risk of food insecurity. Among the respondents, 15% were food-insecure while another 16% of the sample was at risk of food insecurity. Payne-Sturges et al. found various factors that increased the probability of either being food-insecure or at risk of food insecurity. These included: being African American; being of other race/ethnicity, having received multiple forms of financial aid, and having experienced housing problems. It was noted that food-secure students were less likely to show depressive signs than students who are at-risk or food insecure. Finally, the authors believe that food insecurity should be regarded as an important public health concern since they have significant implications for academic performance, retention, and graduation rates. [NPID: low-income, food insecurity, college, housing stability, financial aid, academic performance]
Year: 2018
