Food and Housing Insecurity for Latinx/a/o College Students: Advancing an Intersectional Research Agenda

Abstract

Along with concerns about higher education’s declining affordability, attention to food and housing insecurity among postsecondary students has risen, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic. In this manuscript, the authors review how literature has examined food/housing insecurity for Latinx/a/o students before employing an intersectional lens to develop a research agenda to investigate food/housing insecurity for Latinx/a/o students. This agenda emphasizes interrogating how interrelated systems of power and oppression affect Latinx/a/o students’ access to basic needs.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on college students with marginalized identities

“…BIPoC students, in particular, would benefit from interventions that take a trauma-informed approach to pandemic-related support. Latinx students have experienced food insecurity and lack of housing and access to financial loans during the pandemic (Duran and Núñez, 2021), and communities of color, in general, have faced inequity in health care access and coverage, childcare, and employment (Fortuna et al, 2020). The experience of prejudice and discrimination related to their marginalized identities has resulted in trauma for BIPoC and SGM students during the pandemic (Salerno et al, 2020).…”

“…Among other calls to action, the APA has specifically addressed the need for college campuses to rethink their approach to mental health, as today’s college students are not only facing challenges related to academics and campus life but also “economic strain, social injustice, mass violence, and various forms of loss related to Covid-19” (Abrams, 2022, para 5). While any American student may be affected by these external, uncontrollable stressors, research is beginning to show that not every student has been impacted in the same way; those with marginalized identities may have been the most negatively affected (Duran and Núñez, 2021; Hoyt et al, 2021; Johns and Hawkes, 2020). Given that 17.8 million undergraduates and 4.3 million graduate students enroll in postsecondary institutions each year (Bauman and Cranney, 2020), it is important to examine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the perceived stress, social isolation, and pandemic-related concerns of college students in the United States, including disparities that may exist within this population.…”

Centering Hispanic-Serving Institutions’ strategies to develop talent in computing fields

“…Now, Hispanics are too-often the target of resurgent nativism in the US, and are a racial/ ethnic group experiencing among the most negative economic, health, and social consequences due to the global coronavirus pandemic (Krogstad and López 2020; US Bureau of Labor Statistics 2020). Hispanic college students face challenges with food and housing insecurity that will only intensify under these conditions (Duran and Núñez, 2020). One national survey of college students indicates that Hispanics are experiencing the most difficulty among all racial/ethnic groups in adjusting to new forms of online instruction during the pandemic, as they are the most likely to indicate that finding a quiet place to study is difficult and that they are very concerned about balancing family and work responsibilities while sustaining their studies (Means and Neisler 2020, 13).…”

Basic Needs Initiatives at Texas Community College Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Changes in Service Offerings during the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…HSIs actively work to serve underserved populations (Garcia, 2019) including low income, first generation, and students of color (Núñez et al, 2016). HSIs are often less well-resourced than other colleges and universities (Duran & Núñez, 2021), especially at the community-college level (Núñez et al, 2016) despite enrolling students who have greater unmet basic needs (Goldrick-Rab et al, 2019). HSIs are a diverse group of institutions ranging from broad access to more selective colleges and universities with a variety of organizational missions and purposes (Núñez et al, 2016).…”