Feeding the Student Body: Unequal Food Insecurity Among College Students

ABSTRACT

Background: A growing but limited body of research has assessed food insecurity among college students. The majority of these studies relied on convenience or nonprobability samples. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and odds of food insecurity among undergraduate students. Methods: Online survey data were collected in the spring of 2017 from a random sample of college students attending a 4-year university. A final sample of 378 undergraduate students was included in this study. Pearson's chi-square and logistic regression analyses were used to examine differences in the prevalence and odds of food insecurity across student groups. Results: Nearly a third (32%) of undergraduate students were food insecure. Racial and sexual minorities had a higher prevalence of food insecurity and higher odds of food insecurity. Students who had a background of family financial struggles and who lack housing security had a higher prevalence and higher odds of food insecurity. Discussion: The results are discussed with attention to the role of higher education in reproducing or reducing unequal opportunity in the United States. Translation to Health Education Practice: Certified Health Education Specialists should consider interventions with the differentiated risk of food insecurity in mind.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Average score on the income scale (0–11) for “yes” responses was 3.14, whereas those who responded “no” averaged 3.91 and those who responded “don’t know” averaged 3.85.

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this research was provided by the Department of Sociology at the University of Missouri–Columbia.