Introduction
Recent history, more so, the frequency of economic downturns over the past few decades, has championed the fact that college education is indeed a necessity towards social as well as economic advancement (Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson &Leveritt, 2011). As more people focus on attaining college education, there are challenges that come to light. One of the most prevalent challenge being scarcity of economic means towards establishing direction towards setting out a brighter future path to greater success and opportunity for those from needy family backgrounds (Rondeau, 2007). Without a doubt, tuition fees present needy college students with the largest expense. However, there are a myriad of other expenses which make life in college for needy students an arduous struggle.
Even in instances where higher education institutions offer financial aid packages, the likelihood of receiving a financial assistance package concerning all possible expenses is in most instances granted to a select few (Rondeau, 2007). On the same note, loans offered to needy college students require immediate repayments after entering the job market of which some needy graduates find difficult to acquire. Given that food budgets are considered as highly flexible, when needy students are faced with the issue of money scarcity, they have to contend with less nutritious food that are cheaper (Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson &Leveritt, 2011);(Allahwalaet al. 2013). Such situational outcomes can be detrimental to a student’s ability to ensure acceptable degrees of self-care. This paper presents a literature review discussing for pantries to address the food insecurity which needy college students often encounter.
Literature Review
Colleges are in essence social institutions (Allahwalaet al. 2013). The common college student has to overcome arising challenges related to meeting expenses and by extension, encounter consumer pressures associated with exploring and building a novel identity of self. Such pressures are subjected to all college students regardless of socioeconomic background (Cunningham & Johnson, 2011). All college students always seek to use money to reflect the social identities they relate with the most as they go through the education system. For students with a low income status background, being in a college that offers boarding facilities but does not offer a dining plan can translate to a highly self-monitored food budget (Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson &Leveritt, 2011).
Food as a Basic Necessity
According to Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs, the psychological requirements are the most significant. The physical body of every college students requires good nutrition, water, rest and sleep for self-sustenance. The theory provides that having the above stated needs enables an individual to develop the appropriate feelings of being secure and safe (Cunningham & Johnson, 2011). The individual thus can bear the opportunity to project a feeling of esteemed and accepted thin the social circles ascribed to. Contemporary college education translates to exactly what the Maslow theory postulates towards academic success and a sense of fulfillment at present and more so, in future. Self-actualization being the highest pinnacle in Maslow’s theory is the goal of each living individual and as such, college enrollment does not guarantee this outcomes as college education is simply a means for such fulfillment (Cunningham & Johnson, 2011); (Allahwala et al. 2013). With regard to needy college students, the inability to adequately realizebasic needs implies that self-actualization may remain only as a dream.
Food Security and Self-Care
It is all-important to note that for many students; self-care throughout the college years is often disregarded (Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson & Leveritt, 2011). One of the critical elements of self-care which includes ensuring one regularly and consistently consumes nutritious foods is not accorded the seriousness it deserves due to a number of reasons (Cunningham & Johnson, 2011). Concerning needy college students, it is widely accepted that poor nutrition is associated with the inability to purchase nutritious foods which are in most instances expensive. Poor nutrition tends to affect academic performance. (Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson &Leveritt, 2011).
Lifestyle Challenges Encountered by College Students
The contemporary society has reinforced some underlying assumptions with regard to college students and more so, the college experience. It is common sentiment among members of the society that college experience revolve around consuming diets which regularly include fast foods and beer(Akobundu, Cohen, Laus, Schulte &Soussloff, 2004);(Rondeau, 2007); (Cunningham & Johnson, 2011). Students from economically stable backgrounds are able to purchase and consume whatever they may desire, non-foods and nutritious diets. For needy students, such options are unavailable as challenges arise in making decisions as to whether to socialize in ritualized college events or purchase vegetables and fresh fruits (Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson &Leveritt, 2011);(Akobundu, Cohen, Laus, Schulte &Soussloff, 2004). The truth of the matter is that the reinforced assumptions regarding college experiences only serve to mask the issue of food insecurity affecting needy college students (Rondeau, 2007). For elementary and high school students, this issue is currently well addressed but disregarded when related to college students.
Sacrifices
As Cunningham and Johnson (2011) provides, lower income persons attending college often have to contend with making astonishing sacrifices like working extended hours at odd jobs (Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson &Leveritt, 2011);(Akobundu, Cohen, Laus, Schulte &Soussloff, 2004).However, some colleges as well as universities offer programs and policies aimed at assisting needy students in an effort to retain affected individuals (Allahwalaet al. 2013). It is critical to point out that such programs formulated with the primary purpose of offering support to needy college students concerning food security have been very uncommon (Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson &Leveritt, 2011).
Food Security Appraises Academic Performance
Patton-López, López-Cevallos, Cancel-Tirado and Vazquez (2014) carried out a research study in Oregon aimed at investigating the aspects of food insecurity among the state’s college student. The study focused on a rural university and included 354 participants.The results of the particular research study carried out in 2011 provided that 59% of the institution’s students were exhibited as food insecure (Patton-López, López-Cevallos, Cancel-Tirado& Vazquez, 2014). It is critical to point out that this specific result described the fact that the food insecurity was experienced for at least more than one instance in the previous academic year. Such students were found to manifest fair or conversely, poor health and earned incomes of less than 15,000 dollars annually (Patton-López, López-Cevallos, Cancel-Tirado& Vazquez, 2014). The study also established that optimum academic performance tended to be inversely related with food insecurity. As much as the study concluded that further research should be carried out with this regard, food insecurity was indeed noted to be a critical issue facing college students in rural areas especially for those considered as needy students (Patton-López, López-Cevallos, Cancel-Tirado& Vazquez, 2014).
Institutionalizing Food Pantries
Cunningham and Johnson (2011) offer important guidelines towards setting up and institutionalizing college food pantries aimed at enabling needy students to optimize on academic performance and a healthy social life. Given the fact that such an enterprise could be costly for college institution to operate sustainably, the two authors suggested a number of avenues towards implementing a college food pantry strategy (Barlett, 2011); (Cunningham & Johnson, 2011). Their study suggests that supportive partnerships and memberships can go a long way to ensuring such a strategy is successful in the long term. Institutions were encouraged to offer such resources as equipment and space. Partners and members running the pantry style organization were compelled to advance a functional reporting structure that incorporates risk management principles in an effort to sustainably reaching out to the identified clients (Cunningham & Johnson, 2011).
Communal Inputs
Given that such a pantry could be labor and capital intensive, the partnership and membership schemes were projected as a proper manner through which available channels could be examined. For instance, the college pantry could look out to sponsors as well as organize fundraisers to finance operations (Barlett, 2011); (Cunningham & Johnson, 2011). Labor in college institutions for such projects can be readily available from student volunteers as well as other members of the immediate community. Another important aspects was creating strong and friendly channels aimed at positively influencing needy students to subscribe to services offered at the food pantry.
Food Pantries as an Economic Venture
An interesting research study conducted by Friedmann (2006)offered insights as to how such college pantries can be incorporated into community based economic development agendas (Barlett, 2011). Food pantries are in many instances faced with challenges stemming from lack sustainable sources or nutritional foods. Freidmann (2005) suggests that college food pantries for needy students could be incorporated into supply chains which connect farmers to food markets.Localization of such a supply chain can result in positive outcomes that ensure farmers never suffer losses and food miles which translate to global warming can be managed (Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson &Leveritt, 2011). This can work towards ensuring that food security is attained especially for needy college students through community supported projects which strengthen the sustainability of food supply chains within the college’ locality.
Variables
Independent Variables
Control variables involve those which have the potential to impact on dependent variables outcomes (Patton-López, López-Cevallos, Cancel-Tirado& Vazquez, 2014). For this particular study, this involves determining whether a student resides within or away from the campus. This includes determining whether such students, if not residing within the campus, reside with relatives or parents; if residing on campus, whether they do so alone or in the company of a roommate; and more importantly, the student’s financial history. The social economic background of a student’s family is also important in determining control variables (Patton-López, López-Cevallos, Cancel-Tirado& Vazquez, 2014). As such, it is critical to accurately know whether a participant is the recipient of monetary assistance from family members or parents. Another variable involves determining the participant’s status of employment during the duration of the study, whether the form of employment is nonexistent, full time or part time.
Dependent Variables
In an effort to measure obstacles students have to prevail over, students participating in the study are required to describe factors limiting them from seeking assistance from campus food pantries which implies that such factors remain text variables(Patton-López, López-Cevallos, Cancel-Tirado& Vazquez, 2014).. The other dependent variable in this study involves determining how needy students as participants came to be cognizant of the presence of the food pantry. This will also include determining whether such information was shared with other needy students or not.
Food as an Independent Variable
Given that food ranks highly relative to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it is an independent variable in the assessment of its importance to student’s successful learning outcomes as well as college experiences (Cunningham & Johnson, 2011). Considering the introduction of food pantries in college specifically to address the plight of food insecurity among needy students, food remains unchanged as other variables are addressed. This is due to the fact that all students regardless of their socioeconomic status require food as a basic necessity to survive as living organisms. As such, the lack of food or otherwise nutritious foods has the effect of limiting the cognitive capacities of students relative to learning processes. As such, when looking into issues like the eating patterns exhibited by needy students, food groups consumed, impacts of food insecurity on learning and so on, food will remain the primary factor and as such the independent variable (Cunningham & Johnson, 2011). This is a critical point to consider given the fact that this literature review attempts to identify and further describe the impact associated with establishing food assistance programs in American colleges. Such programs are in essence initiatives aimed at eradicating food insecurity among needy student populations.
The Needy Student as an Independent Variable
Economic deprivation limits a huge percentage of American households from getting sufficient or appropriate amounts of foods which bear the prescribed nutritious benefits (Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson & Leveritt, 2011). It is important to note that in as much as the US is the leading economic powerhouse in the world, there are major disparities concerning household incomes. These disparities trickle down from parents to the children and by extension; determine whether or not a child upon attaining acceptance to college can be considered as having sufficient food security.
As such, the needy student being the focus for the establishment of food pantries in American colleges can only remain as an independent variable in assessing their significance to successful learning outcomes and college experiences (Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson & Leveritt, 2011). When looking to assess the frequency of needy students going without a meal, the ability to access nutritious foods and so on, the needy student as a factor remains the same.
What Student’s Eat as a Dependent Variable
As stated above, dependent variables are in essence reliant on a number of factors. When looking into the issue of needy students and food in American colleges, one of the dependent variables has to be the kinds of foods the particular student populations is compelled to consume (Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson &Leveritt, 2011). This is a dependent variable as given that needy students have limited resources to spend on food, then they are left with a choice to make on which food groups to consume regularly and which ones can be consumed when the conditions allow. For instance, in situations where a needy student has the financial resources to afford meat, what will he or she opt to consume, lean meat or fried chicken. This implies that this can allow for pantry administrators to understand the spending habits common among needy students (Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson &Leveritt, 2011).
Increased School Success and High College Completion Rates as Dependent Variables
Given that food pantries are aimed at ensuring food security for needy students in an attempt to improve leaning outcomes and completion rates, student success and completion rates remain dependent variables in assessing the access of such pantries (Patton-López, López-Cevallos, Cancel-Tirado& Vazquez, 2014). If the establishment of a food pantry in an American college is successful at ensuring food security among needy students, the associated completion rates and successful educational outcomes will serve to measure program usefulness. If more needy students are able to complete college students successfully and ore so, attain high academic grades, then such a pantry program can be deemed successful. If the opposite or no change is observed, then the purpose of the pantry program may have to be reassessed.
Conclusion
As this paper has shown, the issue of food insecurities in American colleges is real. As supported by Maslow’s theory, food security is one of the most fundamental elements of self-care. More so, food insecurity has been established as presenting negative outcomes with regard to college student performance, especially for the low income college student segment. Having a college pantry is not a herculean objective and the community should be welcomed as the most potent stakeholder towards its own development. Looking at the issue from an economic standpoint, college students, college administration, the local government, farmers, local business communities and the community can proactively work together towards sustainably operating college pantries.
References
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