A Developing Crisis in Hunger: Food Insecurity within 3 Public Colleges before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Food Insecurity in Higher Education: A Contemporary Review of Impacts and Explorations of Solutions

“…Eating patterns were also observed to change, with dietary patterns in surveyed groups of students at universities in Texas, with results indicating fewer weekly servings of fruits and vegetables during the pandemic [149,150]. Ahmed et al described worsening food security in New York colleges, however there were increases in students' knowledge about food resources and willingness to use the resources during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic measurements [151].…”

Examining college students' food security coping strategies and experiences during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…Roughly 66% of community college students and 40% of 4‐year college students experienced food insecurity pre‐pandemic (Ahmed et al., 2023a; Goldrick‐Rab et al., 2019; Ilieva et al., 2019; Nazmi et al., 2019; Zigmont et al., 2019). College students are vulnerable to being food insecure (ElZein et al., 2019; Goldrick‐Rab, 2019; Goldrick‐Rab et al., 2019; Nazmi et al., 2019; Zigmont et al., 2019), with this risk greater for students who come from lower‐income households, attend community college, identify as part of an ethnically or socially minoritized population, are employed, are parents, and/or experience housing insecurity (Ahmed et al., 2022, 2023a, 2023b; Goldrick‐Rab et al., 2019; Ilieva et al., 2019; Nazmi et al., 2019).…”

“…Food insecure college students are at a greater risk of experiencing lower grades and retention rates, more housing insecurity, greater weight gain, and less healthy diets (Adams & Rini, 2007; Freudenberg et al., 2018; Goldrick‐Rab et al., 2019; Ilieva et al., 2019; Maroto et al., 2015; Martinez et al., 2017; Moore et al., 2020; Nelson & Story, 2009; Patton‐López et al., 2014; Racette et al., 2008), all of which could adversely impact their long‐term psychological development (Becerra & Becerra, 2020; Bruening et al., 2017; Hattangadi et al., 2021; Moore et al., 2020; Wood et al., 2016). When reflecting on food insecurity, student have expressed sadness and hopelessness (Meza et al., 2019), as well as skepticism regarding their college's interest in their wellbeing (Ahmed et al., 2023a; Ilieva et al., 2019; Wood et al., 2016). Furthermore, the pandemic may have increased students' food‐related mental health struggles (Ahmed et al., 2022; Broton et al., 2022), and impacted their beliefs about the importance of supporting food insecure students (Ahmed et al., 2022, 2023b).…”

How Do U.S. Colleges and Universities Help Students Address Basic Needs? A National Inventory of Resources for Food and Housing Insecurity

“…It should also be noted that the web search was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic likely increased the number of students experiencing food insecurity (Mialki et al, 2021) and the demand for basic needs assistance among college students (Ahmed et al, 2022). At the same time, many colleges and universities gained access to additional funding to address students' basic needs insecurity.…”