“I Cannot Afford Lunch”: How Students’ Narratives of Food Insecurity Reveal Difficulties and Coping Strategies Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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

“…Narratives are stories that people situate within cultural contexts and populate with characters enacting a plot to communicate their experiences, beliefs, and goals (Daiute, 2014). Researchers have used narratives to examine how college students cope with challenging experiences, including food insecurity (Ahmed et al., 2022, 2023b; Ilieva et al., 2019).…”

“…Values analysis investigated central ideals, beliefs, or concerns regarding food within narratives (Daiute, 2014). As in past studies, we analyzed students' values to see how college students write about and cope with experiences of food insecurity (Ahmed et al., 2022, 2023b; Ilieva et al., 2019)—this time during the 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).…”

“…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).…”

“…College students can combat food insecurity in several proactive ways that support their long‐term wellbeing, including purchasing food items on sale, visiting food pantries, receiving free food at colleges, enrolling in programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, and preparing food at home to bring with them to campus (Ahmed et al., 2022, 2023b; Ilieva et al., 2019). However, students have also reported coping mechanisms that can negatively impact their long‐term health, such as forgoing meals to feed their children, eating vending machine snacks instead of full meals, and eating less healthy meals to feel fuller (Hallet & Freas, 2018; Meier et al., 2021; Vasquez et al., 2019).…”