Food Insecurity in College Students Essay Example

📌Category: Education, Food, Higher Education
📌Words: 1011
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 16 February 2022

All around America, food insecurity has been a huge factor in the growth of students. College students specifically move away and learn to live independently, while realizing they have no true guidance about nutritious foods. Food insecurity provides the uncertain ability to provide a nutritious value of food to oneself, yet while it continues there are many negative factors that should be spoken about. Although this is widespread between all generations, communities working together to find helpful ways to prevent food insecurity among students would heavily support their future and living environments. 

Food insecurity is defined as the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable and nutritious food. For example, with the students in America, some suffer with food as a factor of not being able to afford it. No access to fulfilling and healthy foods causes suffrage which affects one's health. Therefore, not having a good amount of food to support the student body brings stress and struggle at such an early age. As a student, my feelings about food insecurity are extremely cautious because it can be a sensitive subject. I come from a family who support each other in all aspects which keep me on my feet for the future, involving my health. It is super important for all around the world to know that some struggle in several ways from this insecurity and that there are ways everyone around could help.  

Being in the center of struggle with food insecurity as a college student can change a certain path in life. Food insecurity is highly caused by alienation in society in families, that younger adults pick up. As a result, this insecurity brings upon health concerns such as high blood pressure, diabetes, overeating or the intake of unhealthy foods constantly. Article by Roger Hughes states, “Food insecurity can refer to not having sufficient food; experiencing hunger as a result of running out of food and being unable to afford more; eating a poor‐quality diet as a result of limited food options; anxiety about acquiring food; or having to rely on food relief.” (Lines 14-15.) These constant results can take a human in so many negative ways without help from the outside. The bad health that food insecurity brings upon students is of the many reasons we need to find ways as a community to help for the future. 

As health is a large factor in food insecurity, so are multiple other things such as what we could do to help. As families who can support themselves as well as control their eating habits, one family after another can easily step up to the plate to help ones who are lost. Community donations for college students can be created and implied through flyers, social media, school emails and even socially to strangers. This donation can be included for healthy, well nutritious foods to be stocked up so by the end of the week kids can come and “shop” for the items they need. Just by simply giving a small amount of what comes easy to you for someone else can instantly put a struggling person back on the right track. Research states, “Those individuals with a low food security report reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet, and those with very low food security exhibit multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake, including skipping meals...” (pp. 243, c.10). Students who would qualify to get free food from the donations can start to have a regular schedule of meal prep to intake throughout the week while paying no price. This can result in a head start to fix and make their food habits become stronger and more collected.  

Along with community help for starting food donations, money donations like fundraisers, would also be an amazing outcome. Financial issues for lower class families become a large factor once students get into college campuses with having to pay for school supplies, rent, the college itself and food. Starting a fun school carwash along a college for everyone to be included or a festival to gain money for the kids who are struggling with debt for food can give a boost to reward them. This can show that they worked for what they needed and gives an effect for what they have needed. Journal studies found, “...it has been reported that diets of the majority of American children from low-income families and from the population at large are inadequate and poor in dietary quality, particularly with regards to the intake of fruits, vegetables, refined grains, and seafood.” In results of fundraising, the students who came from low-income families will be able to be given a chance to earn money and spend it on the nutritional foods to support oneself for an effect on that student's future. Food insecurity is hard to deal with as a family and as a student moves away, the things they pick up stick with themself which makes it even harder to handle independently. Making money issues a bit easier can strongly decrease food insecurity to help more kids. 

Not being able to eat foods that keep energy up, provide good natural vitamins, support immune and other positive health factors can change the way students will do on campus. Food insecurity can highly affect graduation rates and learning abilities all year round. In addition, as this insecurity talks about physical health, mental health is also highly affected causing a harder time to focus and be dependent on yourself. Online research states, “Students who were first-generation college students and also experiencing food insecurity were also less likely to graduate compared to first generation students who were food secure.” (Lines 16-18). The repeated factors of food insecurity develop a deep effect on students who need their community's help. No help makes living conditions worsen and only makes the rest of the future more difficult. 

For further reference, it is good to inform yourself about what food insecurity really is, and how it can hurt and change a human being. These causes of negative mental and physical health along with diabetes, high blood sugar, debt, and even getting a good amount of nutritious food are important for everyone to understand. As it affects people, especially students, there are so many things as a community and school that can be done to help change the lives of the ones struggling. The emotional and physical help that can be brought locally to colleges can make a major difference for the next generation of students to create a great future.

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