Food insecurity and utilization of campus food resources differ by demographic and academic group

Food insecurity is a major challenge for many col-lege students, negatively affecting their well-being and academic success. To address the challenge, universities are implementing food resources to provide free access to food; however, little is known about how students' identities affect their utilization of these resources. This study analyzed the relationships among food insecurity, campus food resource participation, and student demo-graphic and academic identity. Survey data were collected from a representative sample (n=1,190) of undergraduate students at the University of Cali-fornia (UC), Davis. Analyses were conducted using chi-square tests of independence and logistic re-gression to assess factors related to food insecurity and campus food resource participation. The re-sults indicate that transfer students are 84% more likely to experience food insecurity, but 39% less likely to use campus food resources. Both first -gen-eration and fourth-year students disproportion-ately experience food insecurity and utilize campus food resources more. Latino(a)/Chicano(a)/His-panic students are twice as likely to experience food insecurity and 49% more likely to use food resources than white/European American stu-dents. These results demonstrate that student iden-tity intersects with food insecurity and access in the college environment. These findings can guide rec-ommendations for improving and expanding cam-pus food resources by utilizing equitable outreach strategies that build a support network of food ac-cess while reflecting the diverse needs of student populations.