Purdue Green Team
Hunger at Purdue
Food insecurity is not just confined to limited access to food or not having money to buy it, but it is very relative to when one has to'stretch' meals.
Relative to college students, when you have to choose a textbook over meals, you find that you have limited transportation to and from grocers, and when you eat satiating non nutritious food, you are food insecure.
While the number of nontraditional students is growing on campuses, so is the price of Higher Education. College students are also experiencing Issues with Food Insecurity. In a study done on Hunger on College Campuses:
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​48% of students reported experiencing food insecurity within the last 30 days
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56% of first-gen College students reported consistent issues with food security
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64% reported experiencing some type of housing security (i.e. difficulty paying rent, utilities, etc.)
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55% reported that these problems caused them to not buy a required text book
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56% of food insecure students reported working a paying job, 38% of which worked 20 or more hours a week
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43% of meal plan enrollees still experienced food insecurity
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For Students not living on campus or with relatives, the poverty rate is 52% Dubick, J., Mathews, B., & Cady, C. (2016). Hunger on campus: The challenge of food insecurity for college students.
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