Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence of food insecurity among college students at a southeastern university. A total of 629 undergraduate and graduate students participated in the research study. A Cross-sectional design was used to measure food security status and sociodemographic data. Researchers analyzed responses from the Household Food Security Survey Module survey. Frequencies were calculated for the questions and sociodemographic data using SPSS software. Frequencies for food security status were calculated manually. Data was collected from 629 students (N= 629; 73.4% female, 16.2% male, mean age: 21.2 years + 4.4 years). 304 students (48.3%) were classified as food insecure and 325 (51.6%) were classified as food secure. There were significant relationships (p<0.05) between food security status and sociodemographic factors including living on or off-campus, employment status, and race. Students at higher risk of being food insecure were those who reported living off-campus and those who reported full-time or part-time employment. Those identifying themselves as Black, Hispanic, and Asian were also at risk. The survey found that food insecurity is a significant problem among college students at this university. These findings are consistent with previous research.