Virginia Tech Food Access and Security Study

In: http://hdl.handle.net/10919/95218

Abstract

There is growing evidence to suggest that a substantial number of college and university students in the United States grapple with food insecurity during their studies. One of the most comprehensive surveys on this issue was conducted by The Hope Center with 33 participating four-year institutions. They estimated that 41% of students had low or very low food security (Goldrick-Rab et al. 2019). A review of food security studies by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) (2018) found similar results and that few students who qualified for food assistance were aware of federal food assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). In response to the increasing concern over students access to food, this study aims to document food security at Virginia Tech. The study was designed with two parallel goals: to contribute to the national conversation on food access and security amongst higher education students; and to inform a strategic response through data-informed programs and policies at Virginia Tech. The first phase of the study was conducted between Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 and consisted of semi-structured key informant interviews. The second phase was conducted between December 2018 and January 2019 and consisted of an anonymous survey distributed to 32,242 students (27,421 undergraduate and 4,821 graduate) located in Blacksburg. A total of 2,441 (8.9%) undergraduate and 589 (12.2%) graduate students completed the entire survey (for a combined response rate of 9.4%). This study finds that 29% (±3.8%) of undergraduate and 35% (±7%) of graduate students were classified as having low or very low food security based on the USDA food security instrument. These findings are comparable with The Hope Center study (Goldrick-Rab et al. 2019). Students with low/very low food security status were more likely to be Hispanic/Latino or Black/African American, be receiving a Pell grant or financing their education through sources that need to be repaid, have a low GPA, and/or have a ...