Document Tag: food insecurity

SNAP Student Rules Are Not So Snappy: Lessons Learned From A Qualitative Study of California County Agency Workers (2024)

Objective
To examine the college student Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) application process from the perspective of county agency workers.

Design
A qualitative study that included semi-structured individual and group interviews (n = 14) between February and December, 2021.

Setting
Nine California counties with a University of California campus.

Participants
A total of 24 county agency workers who regularly process or advise on college student SNAP applications.

Phenomenon of Interest
Facilitators and barriers to processing student SNAP applications.

Analysis
Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded using thematic analysis.

Results
Five themes were identified regarding student applications: (1) a need for more consistency in policy dissemination and program administration, (2) student exemptions and the application process are perceived as challenging for students, (3) facilitators of successfully processing student applications, (4) tracking policy changes is burdensome, and (5) eliminate the student rules.

Conclusion and Implications
County agency workers perceived that students experience unnecessary barriers to accessing SNAP benefits and that implementing the student rules was taxing. Expanding SNAP access to low-income college students could be an equitable solution to mitigate the risk of student hunger while they pursue their degrees.

Policies and Initiatives to Address Collegiate Food Insecurity (2023)

This review analyzes the modern anthropological impact of food insecurity on collegiate and community socioeconomic mobility. We begin with an overview of food insecurity from a global perspective, followed by a deeper dive of food insecurity within the higher education microcosm. We then explore policy, technology, and actions to address these challenges to promote a more just, equitable, and healthier world.

Recognizing and Responding to Poverty in College Students: What can Nurses do?

People may not consider college students when they think about populations who experience poverty. However, rising costs of college and changes in student demographics have contributed to poverty within this group. Many students experience poverty and subsequent basic needs insecurity; they may lack safe housing and the ability to access adequate amounts of nutritious food. Poverty has significant mental, physical, and academic implications for these college students. Recognizing that education is a social determinant of health, it is clear that nurses can address this issue. This article provides an overview of poverty in the context of college student concerns, including actions to promote students’ well-being and academic success. We describe current interventions to support students as well as the stigma that often accompanies poverty and may prohibit a student from asking for help. The authors present information for nurses in various roles on college campuses, such as educator and advocate; advanced practice program faculty; and student healthcare provider. An exemplar describes how faculty at one school of nursing have responded to student poverty concerns. Finally, we suggest recommendations to begin or enhance current efforts to address poverty in college students.

The Numbers Speak for Themselves: Using FAFSA Data to Secure Today’s Students’ Basic Needs (2024)

Postsecondary credentials are a good investment for individuals, families, and communities. Yet college is more expensive than ever and financial aid has not kept pace. And, as college costs continue to grow, students still need to meet their basic needs, such as food, housing, and child care. Ensuring students’ needs are met is critical to postsecondary success. Basic needs insecurity adversely affects students’ well-being, as well as their college persistence and completion. Research shows that food and housing insecurity are contributing factors to lower graduation rates.1 Higher education funding alone is not enough to meet those needs.
Today’s Pell Grant maximum award remains at a level similar to Fiscal Year (FY) 1978, after adjusting for inflation. In 2022-23, the maximum Pell Grant covered 63% of average published in-state tuition and fees and 30%
of average tuition, fees, room, and board at public four-year colleges and universities,2 while it covered more than three-quarters of those costs in 1975. States have also disinvested in higher education, all while federal student loan limits haven’t increased since 2008.
One solution is to ensure students access all available financial support, including means tested public benefits such as SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), subsidized health insurance, broadband assistance, and tax credits. Millions of college students are eligible for such benefits, however, they are unaware of their eligibility or do not know how to apply. For instance, roughly 2 million students who are eligible for SNAP do not participate, leaving around $3 billion in benefits on the table.4 The combination of need-based financial aid and enrollment in means-tested programs could help increase student graduation rates for students with low incomes who may be juggling a mix of work, school, and family responsibilities.

Populationwide Longevity and Food Insecurity (2024)

In this issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, we feature 2 articles that grapple with the important issues of life expectancy and longevity, particularly in vulnerable and disadvantaged populations.1,2 Although both articles come at the problem from different directions, their findings substantiate the need for broad policy solutions.

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.

Oregon State University Food Security Study Executive Report (2021)

Food insecurity (FI) is a growing concern on college campuses. Upon request from the Oregon State University (OSU) Food Insecurity Taskforce, this report outlines findings from the first formal assessment of the prevalence and patterns of FI among OSU students on the three campuses—Corvallis, Cascades, and Ecampus—during Fall and Winter terms, 2020-2021. FI was measured using the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 10-item Food Security Survey Module (FSSM) with a 2-item food sufficiency screener. At Corvallis and Cascades campuses, two sampling strategies were employed in an effort to improve upon existing sampling methods commonly used for estimating FI among college students. Findings from this assessment can be used to inform OSU’s plan to ensure equitable food access among all students.

Oregon State University Food Security Study (2022)

Food insecurity (FI) is an ongoing concern on college campuses across the U.S. Food insecurity is defined by the United Stated Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service as a lack of access to enough food for an active and healthy life (USDA ERS, 2022). This report summarizes findings from the second formal study of the prevalence and patterns of FI among OSU students on the Corvallis campus, conducted in Spring 2022. FI was measured using the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 10-item Food Security Survey Module (FSSM) with a 2-item food sufficiency screener (as shown in Appendix A). Two sampling strategies were employed in an effort to improve upon existing sampling methods commonly used for estimating FI among college students. These findings can be used to inform OSU’s plan to ensure equitable food access among all students.