Covid-19 and College Students: Food Security Status before and after the Onset of a Pandemic

Abstract

While the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the number of food insecure households in the United States (US), it is unclear how it has affected college student food security status. College students are ineligible for many Covid-19-related economic relief programs and may find it even more difficult to cope during the pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify and describe the prevalence of food insecurity at a public university before and after the onset of Covid-19 as well as factors associated with any change in food security. Researchers administered a cross-sectional, non-probability survey to college students (n = 3206) that assessed food security status prior to and after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as questions related to various sociodemographic characteristics. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Thirty-eight percent of students experienced a change in food security as a result of the pandemic, with 59.6% becoming less food secure, and 40.4% becoming more food secure. Characteristics that were associated with changes in food security included changes in housing and employment status as a result of the pandemic. These findings suggest that the pandemic led to changes in food security among college students, and that economic relief efforts should include college students, who are disproportionately affected by food insecurity.

Use of Food Services by Consumers in the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic. How the Eating Habits of Consumers Changed in View of the New Disease Risk Factors?

“…People with low incomes, and with low education, mainly use fast-food establishments. The restaurants are chosen mainly by people with average and high income which is usually connected with high education [ 72 , 110 , 111 ].…”

“…Some studies indicate the socio-economic effects of pandemic on individual aspects of the world economy [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ]. Many previous research papers [ 14 , 28 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 53 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 ] conducted during the pandemic were devoted to the impact of the situation on eating habits, adherence to a the Mediterranean diet in Italy, a potential protective role of micronutrients, phytochemicals and Mediterranean diet against COVID-19, the potential to increase the stress level and its associated impact on the pre-existing diseases such as diabetes and changes in the diet of people or the impact of nutritional status in patients with COVID-19 and those who have had the disease [ 61 , 72 , 73 , 74 ]. So far, only a few studies [ 31 , 63 ] have analyzed the impact of the pandemic on use of food services.…”

Newly Food-Insecure College Students in Appalachia During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…To date, limited research has evaluated food insecurity among college students and investigated factors that may have contributed to the onset of food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. 25 , 27 , 28 This current study aimed to investigate if students became food insecure since the COVID-19 pandemic and factors related to a student becoming food insecure during the pandemic at an Appalachian university.…”

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Food Insecurity among Mexican University Students’ Households

“…Employed students were more likely to be food insecure [36], while being a nonemployed student was negatively associated with FI than students working full-time [32]. It has been evidenced that financially independent students were more likely to report FI [13,46]. Otherwise, receiving financial support from family was negatively associated with being food insecure [16].…”

“…Poverty in the Mexican population increased in 2020 (55.7 million people), compared to 2018 (51.9 million people) [61]. In addition, in other contexts, due to the pandemic FI prevalence increased in US households [6], and changes in the FI prevalence are suggested in Australian adults [35], and university students [31,46]. Therefore, a current analysis of the FI prevalence in university students is required.…”