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Underestimating College Student Food Insecurity: Marginally Food Secure Students May Not Be Food Secure
Stephanie A Brescia1, Cara L Cuite2
1Graduate School of Education, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA.
Nutrients
|August 12, 2022
Summary
Marginally food secure college students experience food insecurity but are often misclassified. This study reveals significant academic differences, suggesting they should not be grouped with food-secure individuals.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Public Health
- Higher Education Studies
Background:
- Food security (FS) is crucial for student well-being and academic success.
- Current United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards may misclassify marginally food secure individuals.
- Marginal food security involves concerns about food quantity and quality, yet it's often grouped with high food security.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine demographic, student, financial, and academic disparities in college students experiencing marginal food security compared to those with high, low, or very low food security.
- To challenge the USDA's classification of marginally food secure individuals as food secure.
- To investigate the academic performance differences, specifically Grade Point Average (GPA), between marginally food secure and other food security groups.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional online survey was conducted at a large, public, research university in the Northeastern United States.
- A sample of 6823 undergraduate students completed the survey, with a 19.7% response rate.
- Validated USDA 10-item FS survey module, institutional databases for GPA, and a novel scale for educational financing were used.
Main Results:
- Statistically significant differences in GPA were found between students with marginal food security and those with high food security (p < 0.001).
- No significant GPA differences were observed between students with marginal food security and those with low food security (p = 0.31).
- Multinomial logistic regression analysis highlighted these academic performance variations.
Conclusions:
- Marginally food secure college students exhibit distinct characteristics and academic outcomes that differentiate them from highly food secure students.
- The current USDA classification system may obscure the reality of food insecurity for a significant student population.
- It is recommended that marginally food secure populations not be labeled as food secure due to demonstrable differences.
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