Document Category: Research Study

Food Insecurity within a Public University and the Role of Food Assistance Programs Amid the Global Pandemic (2024)

Food insecurity (FI) is a pressing concern among university students in the United States, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this issue. Providing food assistance for university students has become more challenging due to pandemic-related consequences and interventions. This study aims to (1) analyze social inequalities in FI among university students in a large public university during the pandemic, (2) investigate the association of their utilization of campus, community, and federal food assistance programs (FAPs) and FI, and (3) understand the barriers students face in accessing FAPs. Survey questionnaires were distributed to students to gather their socio-demographics, FI, and usage of FAPs. Logistic regression was utilized to assess the relationship between students’ FI and their use of FAPs. Among the surveyed students (n = 282), 33.7% reported experiencing FI. Higher FI rates were observed among socially vulnerable student groups, for example, non-Hispanic Black (62.5%) and Hispanic students (38.7%), compared with non-Hispanic White students (32.1%). FAPs had a limited influence on students’ FI due to low utilization. The primary barriers to FAPs were insufficient information, ineligibility, and social stigma. The findings suggest it is crucial to reduce barriers to using FAPs and develop targeted interventions for marginalized students to address inequalities in FI.

A systematic review of factors associated with student use of campus food pantries: implications for addressing barriers and facilitating use (2024)

Background
While campus food pantries have been important safety net programs for alleviating food insecurity among college students, factors related to accessing these vital resources have not been fully researched and summarized. This study systematically synthesized peer-reviewed literature on the predictors, barriers to, and facilitators of using campus food pantries among college students.

Methods
A search was conducted on PubMed, CINAHL Complete, PsychInfo, PsycARTICLES, and ScienceDirect
in April 2023. Included studies needed to be peer-reviewed, written in English, and focused on college or university students. Three authors independently screened all articles retrieved from the five databases based on titles, titles and abstracts, and a full article review. The Study Quality Assessment Tool from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute was used to assess the risk of bias in the included cross-sectional studies. The risk of bias and quality of mixed methods or qualitative studies were assessed as well.

Results
Eight studies were included in the systematic review. Students likely to use a college food pantry were
food-insecure, who most often identified as Asian, Hispanic/Latino, Filipino or Pacific Islander; were first-generation to college; international students; sophomores and juniors; had student loans; were living of-campus; and were without stable housing. Stigma was the most frequently mentioned barrier to using a food pantry. Participants mentioned facilitators such as convenient location and hours of operation, access to fresh produce and nutritious and safe foods, availability of a variety of foods, friendly and helpful service, social support, and awareness of a pantry through fellow students and other members of the university such as staff and faculty.

Conclusions
Continued research must address students’ systemic barriers to accessing food pantries. Campus food pantry leaders, university administrators, and policymakers need to work together to create cost-effective and sustainable solutions that will alleviate the stigma and burden of food-insecure students and provide them with safe, nutritious, and culturally acceptable foods.

A content analysis of qualitative research on college student food insecurity in the United States (2023)

Using a content analysis methodology, we examined 15 peer-reviewed articles published between 2009 and 2019 that used qualitative and mixed methods approaches to explore how college and university students experience food insecurity. Concerningly, there was limited variety in the methods employed across these articles and more discussion of methodology was needed. Despite this, our analysis of student statements in these articles yielded three common themes: (1) co-occurring basic needs; (2)
academic, physical, psychological, and social effects of food insecurity; and (3) institutional satisfaction and/or critique. We include implications for research and practice.

The Effect of State Appropriations on College Graduation Rates of Diverse Students (2023)

This study estimates the effect of state appropriations on the graduation rates of freshman cohorts by race/ethnicity. Data were obtained for public four-year institutions (n = 415) representing six freshman cohorts between 2007 and 2012. Hybrid regression models indicated that a ten percent increase in appropriations would yield a percentage point increase in graduation rates of .59 for all students, .99 for Black students, .84 for Latinx students, and .59 for White students. However, the effect of state appropriations on graduation rates varied across institutions (-1.03 to 2.99 percentage point change) and was frequently larger at institutions with medium or high subsidy reliance (.70 to 1.39 percentage point change). Also, the effect of state appropriations on Black student graduation rates was 2.48 times larger at HBCUs. This study suggests that state appropriations can be an effective instrument for raising the graduation rates of diverse students to help meet state attainment goals

Does Reducing Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Workload Enhance Equity in Program Access? Evidence from Burdensome College Financial Aid Programs (2024)

Persistent disparities in program access jeopardize social equity and erode a key pillar of democratic governance. Scholars have uncovered the causes of these disparities, including administrative burden and front-line discrimination, but less attention has been devoted to identifying tools for reducing disparities. We build on this work by arguing that reducing street-level bureaucrats’ workload may be a key lever for reducing disparities. We also argue that workload reductions will be especially effective at advancing equity when administrative burden is expanded and complexity in client cases could otherwise create room for racial discrimination. We leverage data on all high schools in Oklahoma from 2005 to 2014 (n = 4,155) to estimate the causal effects of a state policy that mandates a counselor-student ratio in a regression discontinuity design. In line with our hypotheses, we find that decreasing workload corresponds to an increase in access for intersectionally minoritized students— low-income Black, Native American, and Hispanic students. Moreover, we find that effects were concentrated in the years after administrative burden was expanded. Together, our findings suggest that reducing workload can alleviate longstanding disparities in program access.

The racial wealth gap, financial aid, and college access (2023)

We examine how the racial wealth gap interacts with financial aid in American higher education to generate a disparate impact on college access and outcomes. Retirement savings and home equity are excluded from the formula used to estimate the amount a family can afford to pay. All else equal, omitting those assets mechanically increases the financial aid available to families that hold them. White families are more
likely to own those assets and in larger amounts. We document this issue and explore its relationship with observed differences in college attendance, types of institutions attended, degrees attained, and education debt using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). We show that this treatment of assets provides an implicit subsidy worth thousands of dollars annually to students from families with above-median incomes. White
students receive larger subsidies relative to Black students and Hispanic students with similar family incomes, and this gap in subsidies is associated with disadvantages in educational advancement and student loan levels. It may explain 10 percent to 15 percent of white students’ advantage in these outcomes relative to Black students and Hispanic students.

Examining Anti-Poverty Programs to Address Student’s Unmet Basic Needs at Texas Hispanic-Serving Institutions over the Course of the COVID-19 Pandemic (2024)

Many post-secondary institutions have implemented anti-poverty programs to address students’ basic needs insecurities. This study examined the provision of 17 types of basic needs programs at Texas Hispanic-serving institutions over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic with the aim to identify changes in the number and types of programs offered as well as factors that may influence the presence of specific types of basic needs programs on campus. While the average number of basic needs programs per institution varied little over time, the specific types of programs that were offered changed. Institution type as a 2-year or 4-year institution was associated with providing on-campus mental health services, on-campus physical health services, and after-school care for students’ children at pre-pandemic and anticipated post-pandemic time points and employing
students and free food or meal vouchers at the pre-pandemic time point. The percentage of students receiving Pell Grants was associated with basic needs programs to assist students applying for public services and referrals to off-campus health services pre-pandemic and anticipated post-pandemic. The presence of an on-campus free food pantry was associated with the percentage of students receiving Pell Grants at the anticipated post-pandemic time point only. Over the course of the pandemic, there
were changes to the types of basic needs programs offered. Some types of basic needs programs were associated with institutional and/or student characteristics. Given the continued presence of basic needs programs through the course of the pandemic and into the post-pandemic period, the use of these kinds of programs and services to support students, while influenced by external factors such as the pandemic, appears institutionally established as a way to facilitate going to college for students in need.

Exploration of Barriers to Use of Community Food Resources in Community College Students in Rural Appalachia (2023)

Food insecurity in college students worsened during the COVID pandemic. However, students are often hesitant to access food assistance. The purpose of this study was to explore students’ perceptions of barriers to the use of food assistance. In 2021, students (n = 13) were recruited from a Kentucky college. Virtual interviews were conducted. Further research is needed to explore other barriers to use of food assistance. Research is needed to evaluate interventions aimed at decreasing the stigma of food assistance in college students.

Top Percent Policies and the Return to Postsecondary Selectivity (2024)

I study the efficacy of test-based meritocracy in college admissions by evaluating the impact of a grade-based “top percent” policy implemented by the University of California. Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC) provided large admission advantages to the top four percent of 2001-2011 graduates from each California high school. Estimates from a regression discontinuity design show that ELC led over 10 percent of barely-eligible applicants from low-opportunity high schools to enroll at selective UC campuses instead of less selective public colleges and universities. Half of those participants came from lower-income families, and their average SAT scores were at the 14th percentile of their UC pers. Despite this mismatch, ELC participants overperformed in their college grades, and more-selective enrollment led participants to graduate earlier and earn higher late-20s wages by over $1,000 per percentage point change in their enrollment institution’s graduation rate. These returns appear to exceed the average return to university selectivity among higher-testing students in this setting, implying that university admission policies targeting low-testing students can promote economic mobility without efficiency losses.

Constructed Pathways: How Multiply-Marginalized Students Navigate Food Insecurity at Selective Universities (2024)

Studies about collegiate food insecurity show its prevalence as a national issue that disproportionately affects students from marginalized groups. This study further contextualizes this work, examining the ways that multiply-marginalized students navigate systems of privilege and opportunity at selective, normatively affluent universities to meet food needs and pursue personal goals. Findings from this multi-institutional qualitative study highlight asset-based approaches by which students leverage institutional interest in their marginal identities as navigational strategies. Conclusions point to the value of ‘‘student pathways navigation’’ as a conceptual and analytic approach to understanding how students manage collegiate environments.