College students with disabilities report higher rates of food insecurity

Background: Increased risk of food insecurity has been reported among both college students and per -sons with disabilities; however, food insecurity among college students with disabilities has not been explored.Objective: This article aims to characterize the prevalence of food insecurity among college students with and without disabilities at a northeastern university. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected between 2018 and 2020at a public northeastern university as part of the ongoing College Health and Nutrition Assessment Survey. An online survey collected self-reported data, including food security and disability status. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses examined the differences in food insecurity among college students with and without disabilities.Results: The sample (n 1/4 880) was 61.6% female, predominately white (94.5%), and had a mean age of 19 +/- 1.2 years. One out of eight participants (13.3%) reported a disability. Low or very low food security (13.3% and 5.5% respectively) was reported in one out of five participants, while 81.4% reported high or marginal food security (67.6% and 13.8%, respectively). Participants with a disability were more than twice as likely to report food insecurity than those without a disability (35.9% vs. 16.0%, p < 0.001). Among participants with a disability, 12.8% reported very low food security and 23.1% reported low food security, compared to 4.3% and 11.7%, respectively, among those students without disabilities (p < 0.001).Conclusions: College students with disabilities experienced disproportionally higher rates of food inse-curity than students without disabilities. Further research in diverse institutions can help to better understand and develop targeted supports for this vulnerable segment of the college population.