Students’ vulnerability and perceptions of food insecurity at the university of KwaZulu-Natal

Abstract

Introduction and objective: Food insecurity (FI) is an emerging and alarming problem among university students. The problem particularly affects students from poor households. The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa is likely to be no exception to experiencing student FI as more than 50% of the students are poor. In 2012, UKZN implemented a Food Security Programme (FSP) to help address this emergent challenge. Until now, there is little literature exploring the prevalence and perceptions of the FI and interventions at UKZN. The study aimed to determine students' vulnerability to FI in terms of food access and meal frequencies, students' perceptions of FI and its effect on academic performance. The study also aimed to determine the students' awareness and utilisation of the FSP. Methods: A total of 500 students registered at UKZN were invited to participate using a questionnaire survey and 91.2% (n = 456) questionnaires were completed and returned. Vulnerability to FI was explored through a nine-item measure, i.e. related to the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS); and a one-item measure of the self-reported eating habits by the students 'in normal circumstances'. Results and conclusion: The findings suggest that FI remains a serious challenge among university students. Using the one-item measure, vulnerability to FI was evident in 53.1% of the students, of whom 44% experienced moderate levels of vulnerability; 9.2% were highly vulnerable. There was a significant correlation between the students' source of funding and being FI due to lack of resources (r = 0.119, p = 0.012). FI has a high potential to negatively affect students' academic outcomes. About 64.3% of the students indicated that hunger reduced their concentration and vigour such that 27.7% had missed classes. Social stigma was attached to FI; 30% of the students preferred anonymity regarding their FI status; 37.7% showed reluctance to utilise/ recommend the FSP to anyone. Recommendations are made for institutional and national responses.

Exploring the relationship between food insecurity with hunger and academic progression at a large South African University

“…Food insecurity has been recognized as one of the key challenges currently affecting students in higher education (Munro et al 2013;Sabi et al 2019;Van den Berg and Raubenheimer 2015;Rudolph et al 2018;Kassier and Veldman 2013). South Africa has over 1 million students in its HEI's (DHET 2019b, 3).…”

“…Despite the pervasiveness of food insecurity in South African HEI's, its effects on student success is still not well understood. Current evidence coming from studies conducted in South African HEI's suggests that students perceive food insecurity as negatively impacting their ability to learn (Sabi et al 2019); however, there has been limited work that has objectively explored the relationship between food insecurity and student academic progress in the South African context. A limited understanding of the impact of food insecurity on student success means that HEI's are unable to give students the support they need.…”

“…Food insecurity among students is a growing concern in South African Higher Education Institutions (HEI's). Studies conducted in the past few years have reported alarming rates of food insecurity (Munro et al 2013;Sabi et al 2019; Van den Berg and Raubenheimer 2015;Rudolph et al 2018;Kassier and Veldman 2013).…”

“…Such students may lack secure and sufficient financial resources for food. According to research, even though this group of students receives NSFAS support, they are still at a higher risk of food insecurity compared to their peers who do not receive assistance (Sabi et al 2019;Munro et al 2013).…”

Food insecurity among public administration graduate students

“…Moreover, pantries are often underfunded, run by volunteer help, and have limited hours (Goldrick-Rab et al, 2018a). They suffer from a lack of campus awareness and reluctant utilization due to stigma (Sabi et al, 2019; Goldrick-Rab et al, 2018a) Thus, they may not well serve many MPA and MPP students who are completing their degrees at night. School-based pantries also do not serve online student populations at all, although such students may have access to a non-profit run food pantry in their community.…”