Access to Campus Food Pantry Improves Students’ Health

While access to food is a nationwide worry, college students go through food insecurity four times more often than the general public. A study article featured in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, released by Elsevier, goes over how students’ use of a campus food pantry can favorably affect their physical and mental health and improve sleep.

“In 2015, we found that 40% of University of California (UC) students were experiencing food insecurity, a finding consistent with other research. This prompted the State of California to allocate funding so that by 2018 all UC campuses had a food pantry. Our study was the first to look at the impact these pantries had on changes in student health.”, said Suzanna Martinez.

Student’s general health

The scientists conducted an online survey of 1,855 students at 10 University of California campuses with questions concerning their general health before and after visits to the pantry. The results revealed that having access to a pantry directly boosted students’ perceived health, minimized the number of depressive symptoms they suffered, increased their sleep sufficiency, and enhanced food security.

Co-author Michael Grandner, Ph.D., MTR, Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA, adds, “More than half of the students in our group reported being a first-generation student, and almost fifty percent were Pell Grant recipients. It is possible these students were already at a disadvantage when funding their fundamental needs while at college.

The future of food pantries

“While UC food pantries began as an emergency solution to the high prevalence of student food security, this research shows that they play an essential role in aiding students to meet their basic needs often,” Dr. Martinez concludes. “Long-term solutions to deal with student food security are needed.”

These discoveries can be utilized to advocate for state or federal funding to sustain the work needed to establish these pantries on college campuses across the country and review college student qualifications for and access to federal aid programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Read the original article on News Medical.

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