Food insecurity affects up to 50% of college students, with African American and Hispanic/Latino students experiencing it 1.5 times more often than their non-Hispanic White and Asian counterparts. That puts them at greater risk for not just health problems, but also depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, stress and poorer academic performance.

Researchers from the USF College of Public Health (COPH) along with colleagues from USF’s College of Education, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, Department of Anthropology and other universities and organizations, studied food insecurity among racially and ethnically diverse college students and were surprised to find differences in the factors that limit their access to food.

Their research, “Multi-Level Determinants of Food Insecurity among Racially and Ethnically Diverse College Students,” was published in the journal Nutrients in September.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the predictors of food insecurity among a racially and ethnically diverse population of college students using a multi-dimensional model,” said Rashida Jones, PharmD, a COPH doctoral student concentrating in epidemiology and one of the coauthors of the study.

While the researchers expected to find the same predictors of food insecurity among all students of color, they instead discovered differences, particularly between non-Hispanic Black students and their Hispanic and non-Hispanic White peers. Pharm

For example, the single greatest predictor of food insecurity among non-Hispanic Black students was experiencing major discrimination (for instance, being fired from a job unfairly or being stopped by law enforcement unjustly).

“The mechanism through which discrimination impacts food insecurity is intricate and closely linked to social and economic disadvantages, which are established drivers of food insecurity,” Jones said.

Conversely, things such as savings, body mass index (BMI) and food intake were the biggest predictors of food insecurity among Hispanic and non-Hispanic White students.

“Students who employ multiple saving strategies or make many attempts to cut down on their food expenses might have higher BMIs because they are consuming less healthy, cost-effective foods,” Jones explained. “Additionally, these students are more likely to experience food insecurity, as they lack access to an adequate quantity or quality of food to meet their basic nutritional needs.”

Jones said that because discrimination was the sole predictor of food insecurity among non-Hispanic Black students, a qualitative follow-up study examining more precisely the types of discrimination these students face should be conducted.

“Our findings can be used to inform the development of multi-component interventions aimed at reducing disparities in food insecurity,” Jones noted.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health