What Healthcare Students Should Know About Student Food Insecurity

When we think about the traditional college eating experience, we think about dining halls, ramen noodles, late night take-out, and ice cream socials. We seldom think about hunger—but we should.

Why? According to the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, between 2008 and 2014, about one in five households with a student enrolled at a two-year college experienced food insecurity.

What does this mean? It means that about 20 percent of families with a student attending a two-year school were hungry—they did not have access to affordable, nutritious food.

It also means that students with food insecurity are more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, stress, trouble learning, and poor health.

In a recent article on Market Watch, Kristina Blagg, a research associate in the Education Policy Program at the Urban Institute and one of the report’s authors said, “It is clear that there’s something about two-year students that makes them particularly vulnerable to economic recessions.”

Blagg also said that the number of students at four-year schools who experienced food insecurity is “substantial.” In 2015, 11.2 percent of students at four-year schools experienced food insecurity in some capacity.

What does this mean? Food insecurity is a problem on college and university campuses and needs to be addressed.

Let’s take a closer look at what you need to know as a healthcare student.

1. Learn how to define food insecurity

First, you need to understand what it is. It’s more than just being hungry. It’s about access. There’s more than enough food in the world to prevent people from being hungry.

World hunger is on the rise. In 2015, 777 million people were undernourished. In 2016, that number jumped to 815 million.

While conceptually you can understand this, it’s hard to understand what this means as you look around at your classmates and future patients.

It means this, broadly: between 11 percent and 20 percent of those folks with whom you generally interact may be hungry, struggling to avoid hunger, at risk of hunger, or feel threatened by hunger.

It means you need to tread carefully. See #2.

2. Know that it may concern your friends and fellow students

High food costs, limited income, poor food support systems, and tuition costs contribute to food insecurity.

It depends on where you are, too. In areas of high poverty, food insecurity is more prevalent.

In 2014, a team of researchers from Oregon State University and Oregon’s Benton County Health Department studied college students and food insecurity. They looked at 354 students between the ages of 19 and 24 and their relationship with food insecurity. What did they find?

In a 2014 article from Medical Daily, the study’s lead author, Megan Patton-Lopez said, “… many of these students who are coming from low-income families and attending college for the first time, this may be a continuation of food insecurity they’ve known before. It becomes a way of life, and they don’t have as many resources to help them out.”

Be a resource to help out your peers. See #3.

3. Volunteer to educate others

Walk a fine line. Preaching and teaching are different. Go with teaching. Why? Perception is everything. Be humble and teach—and educate yourself on the issue.

Get involved on your campus or in your community with local food initiatives. Unsure where to start? Contact your campus student activities office to find out about local initiatives.

If you can’t find anything, search the internet for local, food-based education initiatives. Check local farmers’ markets, food pantries, or soup kitchens. Local faith-based organizations may also have programs for helping those with food insecurity.

Get involved and volunteer.

4. Learn how to talk about food with your future patients

The American Academy of Pediatrics cites food insecurity as a health-related social issue that needs to be addressed at every visit.

Regardless of your healthcare field, asking about the quality of a patient’s diet and access to food will give you insight into other issues you may be treating.

If food insecurity is an issue for your patient or your patient’s family, then you need to understand that you’re dealing with not just an economic issue, but a health one, too.

5. Understand how it factors into healthcare cost

Easier said than done, with healthcare costs so “complicated.” Know that undernourishment and malnourishment cause health problems that cost money to treat.

How much? Hard to say—but food insecurity contributes to the cost of healthcare.

A 2015 study of household food insecurity and annual health care costs in Canada—with its single-payer system—revealed that health care costs are significantly higher for food-insecure households.

Households with low food security had health expenses about 49 percent higher than those who were food secure—and health care costs were 121 percent higher for those with low food security.

Your takeaway from all of this? Learn about food insecurity. Respect those around you. Understand that food insecurity will make an impact on the work you do, and that you can help those who need it.

Learn more about studying nutrition and food behavior.