Campus Food Initiatives: Mitigating Student Food Insecurity

Abstract

With an increasing cost of living in Canada, more people are considered food insecure, and this can have a detrimental impact on Canadian University students (Dahal et al., 2023). Food insecurity is the state of being without reliable access to affordable and nutritious food. University students face greater food insecurity than the general population due to financial constraints and accessibility (Sing, 2022). This study sought to explore student’s knowledge, need, and use of food initiatives on campus (aimed at mitigating food insecurity) through the use of a questionnaire. The questionnaire determined that 61% of students are not always able to access affordable and nutritious food. Regarding food insecurity, students said that they never (39%), seldom (21%), sometimes (30%), often (9%), and always (1%) experience it. The University of Lethbridge has three food initiatives in place to combat food insecurity: the food bank, the food pantries, and the fresh food box. 27% of students in this study use the three mentioned food initiatives, breaking down into 9% using the food bank, 14% using the food pantry, and 4% using the fresh food box. This research could be used to help inform the University of Lethbridge’s levels of food insecurity in the student population as well as which food initiatives to implement based on students’ self-identified needs.