Food Insecurity Among College Students: An Under-Researched Population
Inside Higher Ed: November 22, 2016
Kovacs, Kasia. “Battling Student Hunger”
Summary
The article begins by outlining a currently existing food pantry established at George Washington University. A description is offered of the positive responses of several students, and cites data regarding the number of students using the pantry’s services. The article goes on to discuss the lack of official policy relating specifically to college students. It discusses proposed changes to official policy in several cities across the country intended to extend SNAP benefits and subsidized lunch programs to include college students. These proposals have been met with varying levels of opposition.[Click Essay Writer to order your essay]
The news article ends by pointing out a lack of credible research, acknowledging that most existing studies use convenience samples that are skewed toward collecting data from students with an existing tendency toward food insecurity. With as much as 25% of community college students, and 20% of students at 4-year institutions, facing food insecurity, the importance of broader scale and more unbiased research is highlighted as the next step toward providing farther-reaching solutions.[“Write my essay for me?” Get help here.]
Connection
The article is directly related to the human services sector. It discusses a population that has not been sufficiently researched, and whose needs are not being adequately met. The goal of human services providers is to understand and ultimately meet the needs of communities, and neglecting such a large segment of the population is a gross oversight.[Need an essay writing service? Find help here.]
Discussion Questions
- What are some of the misconceptions that have led to a lack of sufficient research on food insecurity in college students?
- Do you think college students should have access to the same resources as their working-class counterparts?
- How might an individual student’s food insecurity directly impact his or her education?
- Do you think there are other needs college students might have that are not being sufficiently addressed by the human services sector, and why might this be the case?
