Empty shelves: How your academic library can address food insecurity

Abstract

<jats:p>Researchers have only recently begun looking at food insecurity on college campuses. Food insecurity is characterized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as limited or uncertain access to nutritionally adequate and safe foods or the ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways due to limited financial resources. Harmony Reppond illustrates this point when writing, “food insecurity for college students can mean running out of food between paychecks, attending campus events in search of food, reducing food intake, purchasing minimally nutritious food that costs less, skipping meals, and deciding between paying for textbooks or food.” Food insecurity is often an invisible condition because of the stigma associated with hunger and poverty. However, the extent and severity of food insecurity on college campuses is alarming. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a literature review and found that college student food insecurity rates exceeded 30% in the majority of published studies. The Hope Center at Temple University conducts an annual survey on student basic needs, which originally covered food and housing insecurity, and has since been expanded to include transportation, childcare, stress, and mental health. Over the last five years this survey has been completed by more than 330,000 students attending 411 colleges and universities, and the Hope Center has found that on average over the last five years 39% of respondents reported being food insecure in the prior 30 days. The rise of student food insecurity is linked to a decrease in public funding for higher education, which in turn has caused a steep increase in tuition rates, combined with more low-income students entering college.</jats:p>

Bridging the Mind and Body

“…Academic libraries have lagged behind their public library peers in this regard. While many campuses have food pantries, academic libraries' involvement with them has thus far been relatively limited (Wood 2020). It should be noted that food banks are usually large facilities where food is stored and distributed to smaller entities, while a food pantry is more localized, acting similarly to a grocery store (Martin, Xu, and Schwartz 2021).…”

“…A report released by the US Government Accountability Office in late 2018 reviewed 22 applicable studies related to food insecurity and found that more than 30 percent of college students face food insecurity at some point in their college career amid the rising costs of higher education (US Government Accountability Office 2018). Student food insecurity is experienced at higher rates by traditionally underrepresented groups, "including first-generation college students, Black and Indigenous people, single parents, people with disabilities, nonbinary and trans-identifying individuals, former foster youth, and those who are presently unhoused or at risk of homelessness" (Wood 2020).…”

Creating a culture that supports food security and health equity at higher education institutions

“…In the circumstance that awareness exists, stigma is also a known barrier to accessing resources (1,2,4,43) . Some campuses have intentionally aimed to mitigate stigma by centralising their food pantries in visible locations on campus (35,46) ; however, more needs to be done to ensure these campus programmes are socially acceptable by marginalised students. In general, efforts should include education to students and other campus stakeholders on the impact of unmet basic needs, such as access to safe, affordable and healthy food, on academic success and health outcomes (4) .…”