Food Insecurity, Coping Mechanisms, and Utilization of Food Assistance Resources Among International Students at a...

To examine the prevalence of food insecurity, coping mechanisms, and food assistance resource utilization, and to identify factors associated with nonutilization among international students attending Oklahoma State University.

Cross-sectional online survey.

One hundred and seventy-three international students at Oklahoma State University.

Food insecurity was assessed using the validated US Department of Agriculture's Six-item Short Form. Sociodemographic characteristics, coping mechanisms, awareness and utilization of food assistance resources were assessed using a structured questionnaire.

Chi-square tests of independence were used to examine awareness, utilization, and coping mechanisms by food security status. Multiple logistic regression analyses identified factors associated with nonutilization of food assistance resources.

Food insecurity prevalence was 45.7%, with 31.2% experiencing low food security and 14.5% very low food security. Compared with students with food security, those experiencing food insecurity were significantly more likely to reduce meal sizes, consume less healthy meals, skip meals, stretch meals, and purchase cheap, processed foods (all P ≤ 0.01). Undergraduate status (adjusted odds ratio, 5.7 [95% confidence interval, 1.2-26.8]; P = 0.03) or lack of awareness of available resources (adjusted odds ratio, 10.1 [95% confidence interval, 2.6-39.1]; P < 0.001) were significantly associated with nonutilization.

Nearly half of international students experienced food insecurity. Despite high awareness of food assistance programs, utilization was suboptimal. Targeted, culturally responsive outreach may improve utilization and support food security in this population.