“It’s just a constant concern in the back of my mind”: Lived experiences of college food insecurity

Abstract

Objective: Food insecurity is a growing concern to the health and wellbeing of college students. This study aims to examine the lived experiences of students at-risk of food insecurity and associated challenges in a public urban campus. Participants: The study recruited 21 college students at risk of food insecurity using purposive sampling. Methods: We performed qualitative interviews with three focus groups and conducted a thematic analysis to explore themes that emerged from participant discussions. Results: Three central themes emerged from our qualitative analysis: (a) barriers to accessing stable and healthy food; (b) impacts of food insecurity on academic performance and physical and mental health; and (c) coping strategies for navigating food insecurity. Conclusions: The study highlights the distinct natures of food hardship and responses specific to urban public college students. Suggestions for academics and college administrators to mitigate college food insecurity are discussed.

Keywords:

• Basic needs
• college food insecurity
• focus group
• food access
• urban public college

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by VCU School of Social Work and the Institute for Inclusion, Inquiry and Innovation (iCubed). We value our partnership with VCU RamPantry. We especially appreciate the contributions of Felicia Dixon and Ana Diallo. We also thank Lisa Mathews-Ailsworth, members of the iCubed core Sustainable Food Access, Britney Pitts, and Mauricio Yabar for their constructive feedback and help.