Exploring and Understanding Food Insecurity in Social Work Students
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Date
2024-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Food insecurity is a growing problem for college students in the U.S. Having access to food does not necessarily mean that food is nutritious. Expenses like housing, food, transportation, and tuition contribute to college students experiencing food insecurity at a high rate. Recent studies have shown that social work students, in particular, are at risk for food insecurity and may negatively impact academic performance, financial instability, mental health, and relationships.
The overall objective of this research was to examine the levels of food insecurity among social work students at Ohio State University (OSU) and determine how sociodemographic disparities affect food access and food security for students. We explored experiences of food insecurity for social work students at each program level (BSSW, MSW, Combined MSW-PhD, PhD), across all campuses (Columbus, Lima, Mansfield, Marion, and Newark), and for different classifications of race/ethnicity. A cross-sectional survey was distributed online and included descriptive closed-ended questions about sociodemographic characteristics, food security status, food access, utilization of food assistance programs, and negative life impacts. Open-ended questions provided opportunities to share day-to-day experiences with food insecurity, barriers to eating what they wanted, barriers to utilizing food assistance programs, experiences of shame and embarrassment, and ideas they had to address food insecurity. We had 251 participants and found 42% of them were food insecure. There were statistically significant disparities by race and varying experiences by campus and program. The students shared in-depth experiences of food insecurity negatively impacting physical health, mental health, school and work performance, and social life. Major themes included constant stress, addressing the financial burden of unpaid practicum experiences, shame, guilt, embarrassment, and impact of diet quality.
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Keywords
food insecurity, social work, food security, college food insecurity, food access