Changes in food security and fruit/vegetable intake over the COVID-19 pandemic
<b>Objective:</b> To explore differences in food security and fruit/vegetable (FV) intake among private college students and differences by socioeconomic status (SES) earlier and later in the pandemic. <b>Participants:</b> 231 private university students at varying campuses in the greater Houston area (119 in Fall 2020; 112 in Fall 2022). <b>Methods:</b> Students completed an online repeated cross-sectional survey in Fall 2020 and Fall 2022. This study used a data subset of demographics, Block Fruit/Vegetable/Fiber Screener, and Food Security 6-Item Short Form. T-tests, chi-square tests, and analysis of variance tests examined differences. <b>Results:</b> There was no difference in food security between Fall 2020 and Fall 2022; food security was consistently lower for low/working class than middle and affluent classes. FV intake increased early to late pandemic. <b>Conclusions:</b> Findings inform government and university policy to improve college student nutrition, especially low-SES students at predominantly wealthy private universities.
Authors
- Cassandra S. Diep (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9262-6171)
- Augusto X. Rodriguez
- Laura S. Kabiri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1419-0760)
- Heidi Y. Perkins
- Amanda M. Perkins-Ball
- Jennie Le
- Eunbi Chung
Institutions
- Rice University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of American College Health
- Published
- 2025-05-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2025.2501003
- Primary Topic
- Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00