Prevalence and Social Determinants of Food Insecurity among College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has increased unemployment and food insecurity in the United States (US). Prior to the pandemic, college students exhibited higher rates of food insecurity than nonstudent households. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence and determina...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrients Vol. 12; no. 9; p. 2515
Main Authors: Owens, Meghan R., Brito-Silva, Francilia, Kirkland, Tracie, Moore, Carolyn E., Davis, Kathleen E., Patterson, Mindy A., Miketinas, Derek C., Tucker, Wesley J.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 20.08.2020
MDPI
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Betacoronavirus
College students
Coronavirus Infections - economics
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 infection
Employment
Female
food security
Food Supply - statistics & numerical data
Humans
income
Income - statistics & numerical data
Low income groups
Male
pandemic
Pandemics - economics
Pneumonia, Viral - economics
Prevalence
SARS-CoV-2
Social Determinants of Health - statistics & numerical data
Students - statistics & numerical data
surveys
Texas
Texas - epidemiology
unemployment
United States - epidemiology
Universities
USDA
Young Adult
United States
Texas
United States > US
unemployment
coronavirus
housing insecurity
females
food security
hunger
ISSN:2072-6643, 2072-6643
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has increased unemployment and food insecurity in the United States (US). Prior to the pandemic, college students exhibited higher rates of food insecurity than nonstudent households. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence and determinants of food insecurity among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. We administered an online survey to 651 students on three diverse campuses at a state-funded university in Texas, US, in May 2020. Food security was assessed using a multistep approach that included the 2-item Food Sufficiency Screener and 6-Item USDA Food Security Survey Module (FSSM). Overall, 34.5% of respondents were classified as food insecure within the last 30 days. The strongest predictors of food insecurity were change in current living arrangement (OR = 2.70, 95% CI: 2.47, 2.95), being furloughed (OR = 3.22, 95% CI: 2.86, 3.64), laid off (OR = 4.07, 95% CI: 3.55, 4.66), or losing part-time work (OR = 5.73, 95% CI: 5.09, 6.46) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings highlight the high prevalence of food insecurity among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic, with students who experienced housing insecurity and/or loss of income due to the pandemic being impacted the most.
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ISSN:2072-6643
2072-6643
DOI:10.3390/nu12092515