University student food insecurity and academic performance

Objective: Characterize the prevalence and dimensions of student food insecurity and the associations with academic performance. Participants: An online survey was distributed (November 2017) to 13,897 undergraduates at a midsized, New Jersey Public University; 2,055 (15%) responded. Methods: Demographic, behavioral, and food security data from University IT services, and the survey were combined in a single dataset. The USDA food security index was adapted to assess food insecurity. Results: Forty-eight percent of students were food insecure. Odds were higher for: women, African Americans, Hispanics, students with partial or no meal plan, commuters, and students receiving financial assistance. Food insecurity increased the odds of being among the lower 10% GPA and reduced the odds of being among the upper 10% GPA. Conclusions: Food insecurity among university students is high and is associated with academic performance. Understanding the mechanisms underlying this relationship is essential to design programs to address this problem.