Effects of COVID-19 on University Student Food Security |
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Authors: | Elizabeth D. Davitt Michelle M. Heer Donna M. Winham Simon T. Knoblauch Mack C. Shelley |
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Affiliation: | 1.Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010, USA; (E.D.D.); (M.M.H.); (S.T.K.);2.Departments of Political Science and Statistics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010, USA; |
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Abstract: | During COVID-19 restrictions in spring 2020, college students experienced closed dormitories and increased unemployment and many students moved in with their families. College students were vulnerable to food insecurity pre-pandemic and this study examined how the living situations and food security status changed for Midwestern university students due to COVID-19 restrictions. An email survey administered to Iowa State University students between the ages of 18 and 30 who physically attended campus prior to its closure produced 1434 responses. Students living with a parent or guardian increased by 44% and were less likely to experience food insecurity or less likely to work. They had lower stress and ate more home-cooked meals. Students living on their own had higher rates of food insecurity, greater stress, poorer health status, higher cooking self-efficacy, and worked more hours. Seventeen percent of all students were food insecure; related factors were non-White ethnicity, lower cooking self-efficacy, undergraduate status, receipt of financial aid, employment, stress, living in the same situation as before the campus closure, and consumption of more take-out or fast food. These individuals had more barriers to food access. Knowledge of these factors provide useful information to inform future support services for this population in similar conditions. |
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Keywords: | college students food insecurity coronavirus young adults |
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