Table 3.

Gray literature reporting prevalence and factors related to food insecurity (FI) on post-secondary campuses, Years 2000–2015

Institution, Country	First author, date published	Source	Year data collected	Sample size	FI prevalence	Factors associated with student FI
						Socio-demographics	Physical and mental health	Academic
City University of New York, US	2011	Report	2010	n=1086 18–25 years: 65.7% Female: 58.7% Race/ethnicity: 20.0% White 24.2% American/Black 29.5% Hispanic 17.3% Asian US Born: 58.1%	39.2% FI	Higher rates of FI were observed among black and Latino students, working more than 20 hours per week, household income of less than $20000, housing instability	FI students reported higher rates of fair/poor health, symptoms of depression	NA
San Jose State University, US	2014	Report	NA	n=4972 18–24 years: 67.9%	39.0% FI	FI students more likely to choose between food and living expenses, and food and academic expenses	NA	FI students more likely to choose between food and academic expenses
Autonomous University of Queretaro, Mexico	Anaya-Loyola, 2014	Abstract	NA	n=66	50.5% FI	NA	Higher prevalence of overweight/obesity among those with severe FI Inverse relationship between high body fat and severe FI Anemia, hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia (among severe FI)	NA
University of Alaska Anchorage, US	Lindsley	Student poster	Fall 2013	n=63	55% FI	NA	NA	NA
	Nelson	Student thesis	2015	NA	12.3–31% FI1	NA	NA	NA
	Wintz	Report	NA	n=454	31% FI	Minority students were more likely to report FI Living on campus or independently off campus was associated with FI	FI students reported to perceive food prices too high for too little value	NA
10 US Community Colleges	Wisconsin HOPE Lab, 2015	Report	2015	n=4312 18–25 years: 50% Female: 55% Race/ethnicity: 54% White 15% African American 20% Hispanic/Latino 4% Southeast Asian 6% Other Asian/Pacific Islander	39% FI 19% low food security 20% very low food security	FI students were more likely to report housing insecurity and homelessness	FI students were more likely to report depression, anxiety, possible eating disorders, and serious thoughts of suicide	NA
Humboldt State University, California, US	Maguire, 2015	Report	NA	n=1554	53% FI 23% low food security: 30% very low food security	Freshmen and graduate students were more likely to report FI 16% received CalFresh on campus 19% received CalFresh benefits 27% used on-campus food pantry 5% used off-campus food pantry 15% reported experiencing homelessness since starting college	NA	NA
University of Canterbury, New Zealand	Walsh, 2014	Student thesis	NA	n=305	NA	NA	60% of respondents skipped meals 52% indicated cost as the reason 70% indicated barriers to healthy, nourishing food 87% selected cost as a barrier 53% reported lacking fruit in the diet 58% reported lacking vegetables in the diet 48% felt they were lacking vitamins 39% felt they were lacking iron	77% indicated access to food would increase productivity
University of Lethbridge, Canada	Nugent, 2011	Student thesis	Fall 2010–Spring 2011	n=15 Female: 66.7% Mean age: 26.8 years Undergraduate: 86.7% First generation university students: 60%	NA	NA	NA	NA
Pacific University, US	Moore, 2014	Student thesis	NA	n=160 Female: 44% Mean age: 20.4 years	13.1% SNAP users 40.6% SNAP eligible	NA	Among SNAP users: 43% cut size of meals 62% ate less because not enough money for food 67% buy most of food for the household 81% track food budget 33% reported having enough of the kinds of food they wanted 48% have enough food, but not what they want 19% sometimes don’t have enough to eat SNAP users spent a higher percentage of their monthly expenditures on groceries, with 57% of users spending between 50–100% of their monthly budget only 5% of SNAP users spent more than 50% of their monthly budget on entertainment compared to the 53% and 60% of SNAP eligible, non-users 100% of SNAP users agree SNAP makes it easier to afford nutritious meals, while only 55% of non-users agreed	NA
Maryland community colleges, US	Maroto, 2013	Student thesis	Fall 2012	n=301 Female: 55% Mean age: 23 years Race/ethnicity: 15% White: 71% African-American 4% Hispanic 3% Asian	56% FI 26% low food secure 30% very low food secure 20% marginal food secure	FI status was related to race/ethnicity (p=0.005) and living situation (0.007) and being a single parent (0.011)	Energy level was lower among FI students after adjustment (p<0.001)	A lower GPA was significantly related to FI status (0.040), but not after adjustment FI students reported lower concentration levels (p<0.001)
University of Arkansas, US	MacDonald, 2016	Student thesis	2016	n=467 Mean age: 23.2 years Female: 70.9% White: 78.8% Undergraduate: 80.1%	40% FI	FI was higher among graduate students (42.4%) as compared to undergraduate students (39.3%)	NA	Higher food insecurity was related to lower GPA (p<0.01)
University of Central Florida, US	Loftin, 2013	Student thesis	2012	n=51 participants of a college food pantry Female: 72.5% Mean age: 21 years	NA	Factors preventing students from receiving help: 12.0% embarrassment 17.8% time restraints 2.0% quality of food 37.3% nothing	NA	NA
Bowling Green State University, US	Koller, 2014	Student thesis	Spring 2014	n=53 Female: 72.0% 18–22 years: 92% White: 77.0%	19% FI 44% marginal food security	FI students (62.5%) reported more financial dependence Among FI students, the highest rated reason for FI was lack of employment (37.5%) Reasons for not utilizing community food resources among FI: 37.5% embarrassed 37.5% did not know the location 37.5% believed they were ineligible 12.5% not allowed by mother	NA	NA
Kent State, US	Gorman, 2014	Student thesis	Spring 2014	n=298 Undergraduate: 86%	49.7% FI 25.2% low food security 7.0% very low food security 18.0% Marginal food security	An association with FI was observed with living arrangement living location (off campus)	NA	NA
California State University, US	Espinoza, 2013	Student thesis	Fall 2012	n=597 Under 21 years: 39.4% Undergraduate: 81.4% Race/ethnicity: 29.5% White 3.9% African American/Black: 40.7% Hispanic/Latino 15.2% Asian 0.8% Native American 0.2%Alaska native 1.0% Pacific Islander	30.7% FI 14.9% Low food security: 15.7% very low food security	Living with parents was inversely related to FI (p<0.001) Income (p<0.001) and credit card debt (p<0.001) was associated with student FI	Self-reported health status (p<0.001) and use of food coping strategies (p<0.001) were associated with student FI	NA
Humboldt State University, US	Chappelle, 201S	Student thesis	Fall 2014	n=231 Mean age: 22.6 years	35% FI 19% Low food security 16.0% very low food security 35.0% marginal food security	NA	FI students reported lower mental health score (p<0.001), higher unhappiness (p=0.02) and more restless sleep (p<0.01)	NA
University of California San Francisco, US	Office of Intuitional Research	Report	Spring 2015	n=921	13% FI	NA	31% rated stress as tremendous	69% reported difficulty concentrating on studies
Michigan Technical University, US	Gorman	Report	NA	n=1011	26% FI	NA	NA	NA
	Husky Food Access Network	Report	Spring 2015	n=1011	26% FI	34% have financial support from family 61% have a paying job 94% have circumstances that take priority over purchasing necessary, daily food	NA	NA
University of New Hampshire, US	Davidson, 2015	Abstract	Fall 2014	n=418	12.4% FI	On-campus housing was related to FI No differences in race, sex, marital status, or parents’ education among FI and non-FI students	NA	NA
California State Polytechnic University, US	Burns-Whitmore, 2012	Abstract	NA	n=131	46% FI	FI was associated with being a minority student, students’ major, and living situation with roommates	NA	NA
Fresno State, US	NA	Press article	NA	n=674	30.7%	NA	NA	NA
Gavilan College, US	Institutional Research, 2013	Report	Fall 2013	n=155	38.8–45.2%1	NA	NA	NA
University of Northern British Columbia, Canada	Booth, 2016	Report	Fall 2015	n=216 Female: 77% 18–25 years: 71.3% Undergraduate: 75.9%	39%	On campus living was associated with FI	NA	Lower learning was associated with FI
Wisconsin Public Colleges, US	Broton, 2014	Report	Fall 2008	n=1413	Approximately 20%	NA	NA	NA

NA=Not available

CalFresh=The name for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in California

¹Ranges indicate multiple measures of FI