Food Insecurity, Health, and Academic Outcomes among US Undergraduate College Students
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Public Health".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2025 | Viewed by 1567
Special Issue Editors
Interests: public health; nutrition; epidemiology; food security; health equity
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue of Nutrients aims to identify types of interventions, programs, and policies that improve food and nutrition security and lead to better health and academic outcomes among college students.
Food insecurity is a significant concern among students enrolled in higher education. Students in higher education are vulnerable to food insecurity largely due to financial constraints related to tuition, housing, and transportation, among other priorities. Black and Latino students and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds experience disproportionate risk of food insecurity, with a much higher risk when these factors intersect. Students experiencing food insecurity are more likely to report worse physical and mental outcomes and poorer academic performance compared to their peers with food security.
Emergent responses to this problem have included establishing campus food pantries, student-donated meal programs, and improving state policy to expand Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) access to eligible students. However, little is known regarding the effect of these programs on student health and academic outcomes. Advancing knowledge in this area could inform programs and policies to improve food and nutrition security and ultimately foster academic success among college students.
Research addressing the current gaps in the literature is needed. For example, few studies have employed rigorous study designs and quantitative methods such as longitudinal or quasi-experimental studies and randomized or representative samples. Studies using validated assessments of physical, mental, or social wellbeing, and academic or graduation outcomes are also lacking. Qualitative and mixed-methods research is also important to provide context on students’ experiences related to food access, nutrition, and academic performance during college.
We invite you to contribute original research or review articles that cover, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- The effect of campus-level interventions and programs, such as food access programs and SNAP outreach, on student health and academic outcomes.
- Legislative changes to improve access to SNAP and their effects.
- Multi-stakeholder initiatives designed to improve basic needs for students of diverse backgrounds and profiles, such as students with dependents, working students, and undocumented students.
- Multi-site, system-wide, or nationally representative studies.
We look forward to receiving your contributions
Dr. Aydin Nazmi
Dr. Suzanna M. Martinez
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- food insecurity
- hunger
- higher education
- college students
- policy
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- nutritional security
- nutrition
- health
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