Social support for food access and budget construction predict food insecurity among university sophomores

Background: Food insecurity means having limited or uncertain access to an adequate, nutritious, and safe diet. Rates among US college students range from 10% to 75%, and the problem is associated with mental and physical health disorders and unfavorable academic outcomes. Aims: This study examined the associations between the food security status of sophomores attending a university in the Southeastern US and their need for social support, food access behaviors, and budgeting knowledge. Methods: Data were collected during the spring 2019 semester using an online questionnaire. Food security was measured using the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Security Survey, and the independent variables were measured from scales grounded in pertinent literature. Descriptive and inferential procedures were applied, and significance was p <= 0.05. Results: Participants were 222 sophomores (75% female and 85% white). Food insecurity was 46.4%, and significant predictors (p < 0.001) were need for social support accessing food and the requested educational activity "learning how to make a budget." Mean budgeting knowledge scores of food secure and insecure students, respectively, were 11.5 +/- 1.8 versus 11.1 +/- 2.4 (p = 0.42) out of 14 points. Food access behaviors used "sometimes" or "often" by food secure and insecure sophomores included buying food on sale and buying the store brand of a food, while creating a budget that includes food purchases and getting free food from food pantries were "seldom" or "never" used. Conclusions: Food insecurity was high. Learning activities, such as budgeting education, should be tested as strategies for decreasing food insecurity.