The Impact of Food Insecurity on College Students

Abstract

In 2017, the Feeding America statistics reported 934,310 people in the state of Tennessee experience food insecurity (Feeding America, n.d.). It was also reported that 14.4% of the population (or 10,850 people) of Putnam County have at one point been food insecure. Food security and socioeconomic status of a household intersect with the performance of students attending college. External factors like anxiety over finances or worrying about food can have unknown implications on college completion. This review of literature poster will explore the current literature on food insecurity on college campuses and the implications it might have on students’ performance. The information for this poster was compiled from a total of eight research articles collected from Google Scholar and the Tennessee Tech University databases. Current research findings show a negative correlation between the rates of food insecurity with a number of factors like student academic status, financial status, and behavior. So far there is no consensus on the severity of food insecurity on college campuses, in fact no valid measuring tool exists to assess it. Future research is needed in order to create tools that can be used to implement programs on campuses.

Feeding America (n.d.). Food insecurity in Tennessee. https://map.feedingamerica.org/county/2017/overall/tennessee/county/putnam