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Food Insecurity Among Higher Ed

Posted on by

Jaslyn Hamilton  

Weaver 

English 1102 

25 April 2022 

 

Overview 

Most students enrolled in 4-year colleges choose not to live on campus. 87% of students that go to these colleges end up living in their own housing off campus or doing classes from their home. A lot of these students that are choosing to live off campus often do not get meals every night or can even afford them. There have been many solutions that higher education students can use to help with their food insecurity. Food insecurity is very present in 4-year universities but is not being brought up enough. 

Discussion 

Enrollment to 4-year universities have increased over the years where more people are choosing to attend. A sizable number of students that are enrolled in these 4-year colleges choose to live off campus and they must find their own food accommodations. When students are enrolled on campus and choose to live on campus in dorms, they often have meals and board grouped together, which is what most 4-year colleges do. Students who are living off-campus have a higher chance of having food insecurity than students who choose to live on campus. “Off-campus students had significantly higher rates of food insecurity at 27.1% (spring) and 21.0% (fall).” (Riddle, Niles, & Nickerson 1) So that leads to the question how many of these students are going to these colleges to pay for their meals? More importantly, how are these colleges helping these students pay for their meals? 

“Food insecurity is defined as the limited or uncertain ability to obtain nutritionally adequate food due to lack of financial resources, which can result in disrupted eating patterns and/or reduced food intake.” (Lemus 1) In general, colleges were put in place for the student to live on the campus, when now in the nation most college students choose to live off campus. Since food insecurity is steered by housing and these living costs are increasing, there is more pressure being put on food. In colleges and universities, there is a misperception of what students in today’s universities are like. Most colleges do not account for students having a job or being a parent for example, when having multiple different responsibilities other than school it makes it more difficult eat or even have your own money to feed yourself. It is important to talk about food insecurity because it stems from monetary issues which are quite common among higher education students. “The results seem to suggest that around 40 to maybe even 50% of the nation’s college students are enduring food insecurity while their in school” (Goldrick-Rab 1) It is one of the problems that are not thought of when first thinking of higher education problems, but it is very prevalent among students today.  

Food insecurity affects over one-third of college students. “Nearly a third (32%) of undergraduate students were food insecure.” (Willis 167) The institutions of higher education have found some solutions to help students deal with food insecurity such as SNAP, which is an abbreviation for “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”, is a food purchasing assistance program that helps low-income students by helping to reduce the price of their meals. More colleges are making it more known to students what SNAP is and how to access it so that they can have some help with food assistance. College students often have a challenging time meeting the requirements, because to be eligible for SNAP that student must be working at least 80 hours (about 3 and a half days) per month. There is a temporary expansion passed to make SNAP more accessible which said they were eligible if they participated in federal or state work study or expected no monetary family contribution for that year. “The expansion made public food assistance available to an estimated three million college students” (Gravely 1) College students would be healthier and better off when it comes to learning in the classroom if they are fed. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of college students have not been able to get or keep a job so by making SNAP more attainable, then potentially more students would be successful and likely to graduating therefore they would be countering the virus. “For years research has indicated that individuals who have successfully completed higher education are in better overall health and have longer life expectancies.” (Holden 1) 

Food pantries, community kitchens, scholarships, reorganizing funding, and letting students share their unused meal points to other students that do not have a meal voucher are some other ways that colleges are combating the problem of food insecurity. Many college campuses are now having campus food pantries on campus to help these students. Different universities have tried to push students to go to local community kitchens for support when they are in need of food. Some colleges now have different food scholarships that students can get to make sure that they are eating and that they do not have to worry about their next meal. At colleges where food insecurity might be a bigger problem, they have considered, or they have reorganized their budgeting and funding for different departments such as housing. Some campuses have even let students donate their leftover meal points to other students in need. 

In conclusion, food insecurity is a very prevalent and growing problem among higher education students. Food insecurity affects over one-third of students in higher education, and it continues to rise as time goes on. The conception of students in college must change to be able to have a real view of the different people that attend these universities and to have a better understanding of what colleges need to do to help these people. Students need to know that they will have another meal and that when going to college they should not have to worry about whether they will eat that night. It is important, because it will allow for more graduates in the future when they have fewer concerns and worries about a basic life necessity such as food. It is important to recognize this problem while also reinforcing solutions, not only for the students in higher education right now, but for the future of higher education students.  

Bibliography  

Riddle, M. Niles, A. Nickerson, September 1st, 2018, “Prevalence and the factors Associated with Food Insecurity in Higher Education”, Elsevier Inc. https://www.jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(18)31075-X/fulltext#%20

Goldrick-Rab, Sara, January 30th, 2019, “The struggles many students face”, Amanpour PBS  https://www.pbs.org/wnet/amanpour-and-company/video/sara-goldrick-rab-on-the-struggles-many-students-face/  

Gravely, Alexis, September 10, 2021, “AN Extremely Solvable Problem” InsideHigherED https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/09/10/congress-hears-solutions-campus-food-insecurity  

Holden, Lexie, April 12, 2021, “Reducing Food Insecurity Among College Students” FRAC Chat https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/09/10/congress-hears-solutions-campus-food-insecurity  

Lemus, Katherine, May 8, 2018, “We need to Address Food Insecurity for College Students in America” The Leadership conference Education Fund” https://civilrights.org/edfund/resource/we-need-to-address-food-insecurity-for-college-students-in-america/ 

Willis Don, April 5th, 2019, “Feeding the Student Body: Unequal Food Insecurity Among College Students” American Journal of Health Education, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19325037.2019.1590261 

 

College Website Analysis

Posted on by

Jaslyn Hamilton 

Weaver 

English 1102 

8 March 2022 

 
 Summary 

Georgia Southern University is a public university in South Georgia that has three different campuses. GS University is a school that looks for diversity in students, not only in gender and race, but also in income. A student should go there especially if they have a STEM related major. A student should attend this school if they are looking to go to school in a less busy city, but also somewhere where they can follow their passion.” (GSU Home Page 1) Georgia Southern is large enough to provide endless opportunities, but personal enough to feel like home.” 

 Analysis 

When first going on this website it was very interesting, the structure and Kairos are two rhetorical strategies that can easily first be seen. When seeing how the website was formatted, it shows great structure and seeing the motto of the Georgia Southern website itself shows Kairos, because of how the author of the website chose to put it right at the beginning. “To belong. To shine. To dig in and make a difference. Georgia Southern is large enough to provide endless opportunities, but personal enough to feel like home.” (GSU Home Page 1) This is the motto of Georgia Southern University which goes hand in hand with the values that the university has which is “People, Purpose, Action: Growing ourselves to grow others.” The mission that they have is centered around their learners and making an environment that prepares them to think, lead, teach, and serve. Also known as GS, Georgia Southern, like the name entails, is in South Georgia. GS has three different campuses, located in Statesboro, Savannah, and Hinesville, with more than 27,000 students and 140 different degree programs. Georgia Southern’s main campus is in Statesboro and was established on December 1, 1906. GS has many different values for their university including collaboration, academic excellence, discovery, innovation, integrity, openness, inclusion, and sustainability. The mascot for GS is the eagle and they are NCAA Division I athletics.  

On the website itself, it was easy to navigate and find all this information out, because of the structure. The structure, when first going on the website, starts out showing the name of the University, the motto, and having a button to click for the admissions to apply for the school. The homepage of this website looks more as if it is sent in place for people who are interested in or applying for the school. The homepage has more information about admissions, majors, and different interests on why the reader on the website should choose GS as the university they should attend. Also on the home landing page, they make sure to prioritize the “apply” button at the top, by putting it in a distinct color. GS then, in my opinion, puts what they would think would be the most important to a new student looking at their website, in order from greatest to least, with labels of information about the school. Under each of these labels there are distinct categories that specify and make it easier for someone going on to the website to find what they are looking for. These various categories going from the top to the bottom are also in order from most to least appealing to a new student that might be thinking of applying. 

When students are thinking of applying to GS they want to know as much as possible about the school and they want to have all the questions they have answered. GS website caters to appealing to a new student, it is set-up to show a student of interest what the school has to offer. The website does this by using many different rhetorical strategies, one of them being Kairos. The GS website does a lot of thinking within the text and strategic placement, for example putting a specific link in a place where a student is guaranteed to see it. In the world right now, we are going through a global pandemic, which concerns many people, especially a fresh high school graduate that might be moving away from home to go to GS. On the home landing page, in a bright color that can be very easily seen and is near the top of the page, the website has a link to their plan of action against the global pandemic. They put this there, because they know this specific topic would be of urgency for someone to know. They were strategic in choosing what to put from left to right, knowing that in general most people read from left to right and being a new person would click the first tab, which is the “about” tab. Under this tab they make sure to mention their high rankings in categories that might be important to someone reviewing the website and thinking of applying.  

Response 

From writing this paper and learning about Georgia Southern, it is apparent to me that they prioritize new students. This raises the question: would I go to this school? So, just from what I know from researching on the website and trying to dissect what I have read, I would say yes this would be a college I would go to. I also feel like in my first year going there, I would be a priority for the school as would all the other first-year students. Excluding all the structural barriers, Georgia Southern would be a college I would go to, because of all the things that I read about that can be different interests for me. One of the words that I related to the most from the in-class value list was the word “trust.” When reading this website, the word trust did come to my head, especially when reading the motto of Georgia Southern. Part of the vision says “Growing ourselves to grow others” (GSU Missions and Values 9) and the word that correlates with that the most to me is the word trust. Not only if I chose to go to this university, am I putting trust in them to think that they have my best interest in mind and at heart, but they are also putting their trust into me. When the university chooses to accept me and enroll me in their school, they trust me to make their school a better place. So, in a nutshell, Georgia Southern would want me to help their school grow while they are helping me grow when I am enrolled there which requires them putting trust into me and me doing the same back to them. 

University Associates & Staff, Georgia Southern University, 8 March 2022, https://www.georgiasouthern.edu/

Academic Profile of Trenton Marshall

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This essay is an insight into who Trenton Marshall’s academic self is, based on different interviews and regular conversations that I had with him. Trenton is an 18-year-old student in his first year at Georgia State University. He has been to many different schools around Georgia, because he moved around a lot in his younger years of childhood. He graduated from Tucker high school in 2021, and he came straight to college right after high school. One of the reasons Trenton chose to come to college right after high school, is because he did not want to waste time and he would like to accomplish the goals that he has set in place for him self on his own time. Trenton is studying computer engineering and he is striving to be an information technology specialist (IT). Trenton got some of his inspiration for his passion for his future profession from his uncle, who is an IT manager, and because he has a genuine passion for science and technology.  

Speaking of his uncle, in his family life, Trenton has one older brother, three younger brothers, and one younger sister. His older brother had an influence on him coming to GSU in the first place, because he saw that the school had so much to offer. He has lived with his mom all his life, which shows the impact she has on him. His mom is his mentor, since he sees that his mom is so hardworking, that has influenced him to be the same way. The three words that Trenton used to describe his academic self are hardworking, determined, and procrastinating. To some, the words “hardworking” and “procrastinator” can be antonyms, but for Trenton it is as if it is a badge of honor. He has said even though he pushes his work off sometimes, he will always make sure it is done, and that when it is done it will be done correctly. I asked Trenton why he was so hardworking he replied with, “I have to get some money, being unsuccessful is not an option.” He also said that his ambition is a sentiment to be where he wants to be in life.  

In college, Trenton shared that a frustration he has at times, is having to go through all the math courses to get where he wants to be for his degree and future career. He told me that often in math, he has a tough time navigating through everything there is to learn. Since his major and future profession relies heavily on math, he must understand all the intermediate course work before moving on to tougher classes. He even told me that, since he is so determined to accomplish his goals of working in technology, when struggling with hard math course work, he would end up studying the material before and after the class for a better understanding.  

The conclusion I have, after talking with Trenton, is that he is going to do what needs to be done to carry out his dreams. Talking with him is really a breath of fresh air, being that he is such an optimist. He also gave me a different outlook on college in general. While talking to him he showed me different views on college life, one being that he chose to stay close to home. His attitude towards college and to the work that he gets shows how his academic self-shines through in reference to his favorite reading in the class. His favorite reading is “COVID-Era College: Are Students Satisfied.” The reading said “Expectations aside, students generally fell in line” when it comes to returning to school. This reading relates to Trenton, because like the students in the reading Trenton has his own struggles with how school is now because of the pandemic and then having to adjust when returning back to school. In high school Trenton took online courses and even though he might not have liked them, he adapted to this new lifestyle and persevered through it to be able to succeed. Trenton’s academic profile shows us that no matter how many drawbacks there are, whether it comes from your approach to work or the work that you gets for your major, there is always a way to succeed and accomplish your goals if you have the will to do it. 

 

Citations

Ezarik, Melissa, COVID-Era College: Are Students Satisfied, Inside Higher Ed, 24 March 2021 

Marshall Trenton, Pair Interview transcript, Conducted by Jaslyn Hamilton, February 2022