How Does Food Insecurity Affect College Students?

College food insecurity has a wide range of physical, mental, and social effects on a student’s ability to take care of themselves while finishing their degree, which contributes to lower college graduation rates. Students who already come from food-insecure households are more likely to not graduate; they are 43% less likely to graduate from college with a bachelor’s degree and 61% less likely to attain a graduate or professional degree, compared to non-food-insecure students.8

Studies show that adults with food insecurity have a lower nutrient intake and are more likely to have mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Other diagnoses common to food insecure adults are diabetes, obesity, hypertension, poor sleep, and lower self-esteem.3 Food insecurity and hunger among school-aged children and adolescents in the United States has been linked to lower academic achievement, behavioral problems, the inability to pay attention in class and negative impacts on psychosocial development.3 In college students, food insecurity is linked to lower GPAs, poorer health, and housing instability.3 Food insecure students are more likely to fail assignments and exams, withdraw from classes, or withdraw from their university altogether.6 They are also seen to have lower grade point averages and miss out on professional development opportunities, which can negatively affect their future careers.6 Research shows that food insecure students cannot afford to take on unpaid internships and other training opportunities because these students need the time outside of school to work and earn money to afford basic needs.9 Undernutrition between the ages of 18 to 24 affects skeletal growth and neurodevelopment as well, which can lead to long-term health problems like osteoporosis and obesity.10 Food insecure students’ poorer health is also linked to higher levels of depression, anxiety, distress, anger, and loneliness due to their situation.9 They can have lower self-esteem and feel ashamed/embarrassed by needing to ask for help. 

Additionally, students that are in the 18-24 age range are in a developmental stage where the reward-seeking areas of the brain are dominant and areas responsible for planning and self-control are still forming.10 This can cause college students to need more support than adults when budgeting, planning, purchasing, and preparing nutritious meals. This inability to understand what they must do to take care of themselves is not their fault, yet the stigma around college life and being on their own for the first time can make them feel like these difficulties are due to their own personal failures and flaws. These feelings of shame and avoidance to seek assistance in college are linked to social stigma surrounding food insecurity.9 Some students avoid campus food pantries all together because of a fear of being judged. This can cause a student to seek cheap processed foods that have less nutrients, fiber, whole grains, and complete proteins and instead are full of added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium to help them stretch their budget.11 Since eating habits and food preferences that are established during college can persist into adulthood, it is important that students are given the tools to create healthy habits and mitigate the chance of having long-term health problems.