DEFINING KEY TERMS

What is Basic Needs (In)Security?

Basic needs refer to the essential resources our students need to succeed both inside and outside of the classroom. Basic needs security includes but is not limited to access to sufficient, safe, and reliable food, housing, mental and physical health services, and financial resources.

We recognize basic needs insecurity as an adaptive challenge facing our campus, our community, and higher education generally. Basic needs can have a significant impact on student learning as well as retention and completion. Basic needs insecurity is also an issue of educational equity, as students from minoritized groups (e.g., students of color, LGBTQ+ students, students with disabilities) are more likely to experience basic needs insecurity than their peers (see College Students and Basic Needs).

What is Food (In)Security?

Food security is a measure of the availability of food and individuals’ ability to access it. According to the frequently recognized United Nations’ World Food Summit (1996) definition, food security means that “all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life.” Food security at Emporia State University means that our students have at all times physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs on campus and in the community for an active and healthy life.

According to measures on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) food security scale, food insecurity can look like worrying about whether food would run out before having the money to buy more, not being able to afford to eat balanced meals, cutting the size of meals or eating less to make food stretch further, skipping meals, losing weight because of not having enough money for food, and going without food for a full day or more.

What is Housing (In)Security?

Housing insecurity refers to conditions that inhibit a person’s ability to have a consistent, safe, and affordable place to live. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the conditions that contribute to housing insecurity can include high housing costs in proportion to income, poor housing quality, unstable neighborhoods, overcrowding, and/or homelessness. According to the Hope Center’s housing insecurity scale, housing insecurity can look like difficulties paying rent, mortgage, and/or utilities; having accounts go to collections; getting evicted or threatened with eviction; difficulties finding adequate housing that one can afford; living with others beyond the capacity of a house or apartment; and/or moving in with others temporarily or frequently moving (see the web appendices for the #RealCollege survey).

Students with high levels of housing insecurity may experience conditions consistent with homelessness. According to the Hope Center, homelessness refers to the lack of a fixed, regular, and adequate place to live and may look like living in a shelter or in transitional housing, living in a space not meant for habitation (e.g., car, outdoor space), or temporarily living with a relative, friend or acquaintance (e.g., couch surfing).