Security as servingness: Examining links between food insecurity and performance at a Hispanic-serving institution.

Abstract

Food insecurity is a persisting problem that has negative consequences on student performance. The food insecurity literature depicts some students, like those from low-income and Latinx backgrounds, as "high-risk," yet scarce work examines the influence of both income and race/ethnicity on experiences of food insecurity in Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs). Secondary analyses of institutional data with 283 Latinx and 324 White students countered the high-risk narrative. Food insecurity was negatively related to grades for low-income White students only. There was no link for low-income Latinx students, suggesting resilience to negative effects of food insecurity. We discuss how these findings inform servingness in HSIs.

What does it mean to belong? An interdisciplinary integration of theory and research on belonging

“…Economic factors, those that create stable and secure material conditions for students (and their families/communities), are essential for place-belongingness (Antonsich, 2010;Maslow, 1954;Strayhorn, 2018). One persisting conversation centering economic factors includes access to basic needs like food and housing security (Bruening et al, 2017;El Zein et al, 2019;Goldrick-Rab et al, 2019;Greenberg et al, 2021;Valle et al, 2023). When basic economic needs are unmet, students experience critical challenges to their well-being, performance, and retention (Balzer Carr & London, 2020;Martinez et al, 2018;Payne-Sturges et al, 2018;Phillips et al, 2018;Ryan et al, 2018).…”