IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i19p12952-d937752.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Navigating Hidden Hunger: An Exploratory Analysis of the Lived Experience of Food Insecurity among College Students

Author

Listed:
  • Ashlyn Anderson

    (Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA)

  • Jacqueline Lazarus

    (Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA)

  • Elizabeth Anderson Steeves

    (Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA)

Abstract

College students are a vulnerable population to food insecurity (FI), which has significant implications for academic and health outcomes. The aims of this study were to explore the meaning of FI and its impact on students’ lived experiences and food decisions, facilitators and barriers to food access as a student, and students’ proposed solutions to address FI. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with thirty students from a large, public land grant university in the Southeast United States. Grounded theory methodology was utilized with a constant comparative coding strategy to guide thematic analysis. Nine main themes emerged. Themes included the perceived meaning of FI, students’ lived experience with FI, and food related coping strategies and decisions. Facilitators to food access were found to be social-networks and on-campus resources, while barriers to food access included financial burden of higher education, and stigma and social comparison. Proposed solutions to FI aligned with two main themes: food access solutions and information access solutions. Both of these themes included multiple subthemes that provided specific suggestions to address food insecurity for students. The findings aid in understanding the complex lived experience of FI and can inform future efforts to center student experiences, perceptions, and feedback into institutional frameworks to best meet student needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Ashlyn Anderson & Jacqueline Lazarus & Elizabeth Anderson Steeves, 2022. "Navigating Hidden Hunger: An Exploratory Analysis of the Lived Experience of Food Insecurity among College Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-17, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:19:p:12952-:d:937752
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/19/12952/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/19/12952/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Denise Holston & Jessica Stroope & Matthew Greene & Bailey Houghtaling, 2020. "Perceptions of the Food Environment and Access among Predominantly Black Low-Income Residents of Rural Louisiana Communities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-14, July.
    2. Sriroop Chaudhuri & Mimi Roy & Louis M. McDonald & Yves Emendack, 2021. "Coping Behaviours and the concept of Time Poverty: a review of perceived social and health outcomes of food insecurity on women and children," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(4), pages 1049-1068, August.
    3. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Gregory, Christian A. & Singh, Anita, 2020. "Statistical Supplement to Household Food Security in the United States in 2019," Agricultural Economic Reports 305693, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Gregory, Christian A. & Singh, Anita, 2021. "Statistical Supplement to Household Food Security in the United States in 2020," USDA Miscellaneous 313486, United States Department of Agriculture.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Brittany M. Loofbourrow & Rachel E. Scherr, 2023. "Food Insecurity in Higher Education: A Contemporary Review of Impacts and Explorations of Solutions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-15, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P & Gregory, Christian A & Singh, Anita, 2021. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2020," Economic Research Report 327186, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    2. Colleen Heflin & Xiaohan Sun, 2022. "Food Insecurity and the Opioid Crisis," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 703(1), pages 262-284, September.
    3. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew & Gregory, Christian & Singh, Anita, 2022. "Statistical Supplement to Household Food Security in the United States in 2021," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 2022(Administr), September.
    4. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P & Gregory, Christian A & Singh, Anita, 2022. "Statistical Supplement to Household Food Security in the United States in 2021," Administrative Publications 327331, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    5. repec:ags:aaea22:335990 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Joel Berg & Angelica Gibson, 2022. "Why the World Should Not Follow the Failed United States Model of Fighting Domestic Hunger," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-14, January.
    7. Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Reed-Jones, Madeline & Hales, Laura J. & Burke, Michael P., 2024. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2023," Economic Research Report 344963, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    8. Kathryn M. Cardarelli & Emily DeWitt & Rachel Gillespie & Rachel H. Graham & Heather Norman-Burgdolf & Janet T. Mullins, 2021. "Policy Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Insecurity in Rural America: Evidence from Appalachia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-13, December.
    9. Dorceta E. Taylor & Ashley Bell & Destiny Treloar & Ashia Ajani & Marco Alvarez & Tevin Hamilton & Jayson Velazquez & Pwintphyu Nandar & Lily Fillwalk & Kerry J. Ard, 2024. "Defying the Food Desert, Food Swamp, and Supermarket Redlining Stereotypes in Detroit: Comparing the Distribution of Food Outlets in 2013 and 2023," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-59, August.
    10. Brandon J. Restrepo & Matthew P. Rabbitt & Christian A. Gregory, 2021. "The Effect of Unemployment on Food Spending and Adequacy: Evidence from Coronavirus‐Induced Firm Closures," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(1), pages 185-204, March.
    11. Zhongqi Fan & Amy M. Yang & Marcus Lehr & Ana B. Ronan & Ryan B. Simpson & Kimberly H. Nguyen & Elena N. Naumova & Naglaa H. El-Abbadi, 2024. "Food Insecurity across Age Groups in the United States during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(8), pages 1-19, August.
    12. Hoeschle, Lisa & Wang, Hong Holly & Yu, Xiaohua, 2024. "State-level heterogeneities in US food insecurity – an assessment of long-term predictors," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 343686, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Kristin F. Butcher & Lucie Schmidt & Lara Shore‐Sheppard & Tara Watson, 2023. "Living with children and food insecurity in seniors," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 234-261, March.
    14. Victoria Tanoh & Leila Hashemi-Beni, 2023. "Spatial Analysis of Socioeconomic Factors Contributing to Food Desert in North Carolina," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-11, May.
    15. Anne T. Byrne & David R. Just & Christopher B. Barrett, 2023. "But it came from a food pantry: Product stigma and quality perceptions of food pantry offerings," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 54(2), pages 327-344, March.
    16. Rudin-Rush, Lorin & Michler, Jeffrey D. & Josephson, Anna & Bloem, Jeffrey R., 2022. "Food insecurity during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in four African countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    17. Jiyoon Kim & Otto Lenhart, 2024. "Paid family leave and the fight against hunger: Evidence from New York," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(7), pages 1503-1527, July.
    18. Christine Borger & Courtney Paolicelli & Lorrene Ritchie & Shannon E. Whaley & Jill DeMatteis & Brenda Sun & Thea Palmer Zimmerman & Amanda Reat & Sujata Dixit-Joshi, 2021. "Shifts in Sources of Food but Stable Nutritional Outcomes among Children in the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-14, November.
    19. Linda Fergus & Richie Roberts & Denise Holston, 2021. "Healthy Eating in Low-Income Rural Louisiana Parishes: Formative Research for Future Social Marketing Campaigns," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-13, April.
    20. Serge Savary & Stephen Waddington & Sonia Akter & Conny J. M. Almekinders & Jody Harris & Lise Korsten & Reimund P. Rötter & Goedele den Broeck, 2022. "Revisiting food security in 2021: an overview of the past year," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(1), pages 1-7, February.
    21. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P & Gregory, Christian A & Singh, Anita, 2020. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2019," Economic Research Report 327207, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:19:p:12952-:d:937752. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.