food insecurity – Page 3 – SARA GOLDRICK-RAB

The syndemic nature of food insecurity among U.S. college students: Findings from national samples (2025)

Food Acquisition Coping Strategies Vary Based on Food Security Among University Students (2024)

“It’s not a matter of choice”: the intersectional and systemic nature of college food insecurity (2024)

This study investigated college food insecurity as a systemic health communication and public health issue and examined how college students’ unique intersecting identities relate to their experiences of college food insecurity. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with 22 students who self-identified as being food-insecure. Results from a thematic analysis yielded three themes directly related to intersectionality and college food insecurity being a systemic issue: (a) Identity’s Influence on College Food Insecurity, (b) College Student Identity as a Marginalizing Identity, and (c) Institutional Responsibility. These themes explain how micro-level identities and the macro-level power structure of higher education function together in sustaining college food insecurity as a systemic issue. By researching college food insecurity as a systemic issue and placing food-insecure student voices at the center, this study is a steppingstone to one day eradicating a public health epidemic that is negatively affecting the lives of many college students.

Addressing College Student Food Insecurity: Grocery Pickup Program Needs Assessment (2024)

Food insecurity among college students: Administrators’ perspective (2024)

A Comparison of Food Insecurity Prevalence among Students Attending Minority Serving Versus Predominantly White Institutions in Pre, Earlier, and Later Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic (2024)

Food and housing insecurity among community college student-veterans (2024)

In this manuscript, the authors examined the rates of food and housing insecurity experienced by student-veterans enrolled at community colleges in fall 2020. The results of a multi-institutional survey of student-veterans at 113 community colleges suggested that 37.6% of community college student-veterans experienced food insecurity and 52.5% of community college student-veterans experienced housing insecurity. Additionally, 17.8% of community college student-veterans experienced homelessness in the past year. The results also suggest that community college student-veterans who experienced food and housing insecurity had lower grade point averages, higher rates of clinically significant generalized anxiety disorder, and higher rates of clinically significant major depressive disorder. Examples of strategies to support community college student-veterans experiencing food and housing insecurity are included.

Food Insecurity at the University of Denver: A Qualitative Food Insecurity at the University of Denver: A Qualitative Exploratory Study to Identify Challenges and Opportunities for Exploratory Study to Identify Challenges and Opportunities for Improvements Around Food Insecurity on DU’s Campus Improvements Around Food Insecurity on DU’s Campus (2024)

Social Stigma, Logistics, and Reserving Resources for Others: Understanding Barriers to Campus Pantry Use (2024)

Are we meeting student needs? Developing a measure for college food pantry satisfaction (2024)

Food insecurity is a growing concern in higher
education. As universities adapt to meet the
growing need of college students to access
adequate amounts of healthy food, food pantries
are among the most widely implemented food
security supports. However, little has been done to
measure whether this resource is meeting the needs
of students. This study aims to fill gaps in the
existing literature by using a cross-sectional design
to develop a novel satisfaction survey and measure overall satisfaction, use of resources, and additional
support needs of students utilizing an on-campus
food pantry. A convenience sample of 100 student
on-campus pantry users participated. The survey
consisted of a ten-item, investigator-designed
satisfaction scale, which demonstrated a high
measure of reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = .849).
Based on a five-point Likert scale (1 = stronglydisagree to 5 = strongly agree), overall student
satisfaction was high [x̅= 3.8]. Students reported
the highest level of satisfaction with friendliness of
staff volunteers [x̅= 4.55], location of the pantry
[x̅= 4.26], and availability of shelf stable food
items [x̅= 4.11]. Students reported lowest satisfaction with the selection of fresh fruits [x̅= 3.18]
and fresh vegetables [x̅= 3.21], and the selection of
dairy products [x̅= 3.59]. Most indicated a need for
additional support from the pantry site, including
school supplies (n = 48), hygiene and toiletry
supplies (n = 47), cooking utensils (n = 47),
information on other emergency resources
(n = 28), financial resources (n = 25), and recipes
(n = 25). More research is needed to better understand pantry-site satisfaction, identify potential
additional desired supports, and the impacts of oncampus food pantries. This study is the first of a
multiphase project that will continue to explore oncampus food pantries as an intervention strategy,
the student experience of utilizing food pantries,
and their potential impact on students.