Captive Market Pricing and Lack of Transportation: A Survey of Undergraduate Food Insecurity at a Public University in New England

Purpose The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of food insecurity among college students and its relationship to on-campus food purchasing patterns and barriers to eating a healthy and sufficient diet, including the relative cost of food items on campus compared to national chain grocery stores. Design A campus-wide survey using stratified sampling among undergraduates and food audit. Setting An urban public university in New England. Subjects A total of 951 surveys completed by undergraduates. Measures Demographic characteristics, behavioral factors and food security status (measured using the USDA 6-item short form) were collected. Method Descriptive and multivariable analyses were conducted to describe differences between food insecure and food secure undergraduates. Results Overall, 35% of undergraduates experienced food insecurity in the past year (response rate = 92%). Food insecure undergraduates had different on-campus purchasing patterns than their food secure counterparts. Food insecure students were more likely to report barriers to healthy eating on all measures, including prices (AOR= 8.12, P < .0001), to experience housing insecurity (AOR= 2.64, P = .001) and to report that transportation is a barrier to buying groceries (AOR= 1.63, P = .01). After multivariable adjustment, food insecure undergraduates had higher odds of being African American (AOR= 1.57, P = .031) or other races (more than 1 race) (AOR= 3.35, P = .002) compared to white undergraduates. Conclusions Food insecure college students face a variety of barriers to healthy eating on campus, including high food pricing on campus and limited transportation options. Further research is needed to inform campus resource development, policies and programming focused on food insecurity prevention for college students.