Reducing Food Insecurity Among Undergraduate Students at UW-Milwaukee

Bohman, Sydney, Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health, Mentor, Nikravan, Shabnam, Poster Presentation, Public Health, School and College, Student, Wielgosz, Nicholas

Sydney Bohman and Nicholas Wielgosz, “Reducing Food Insecurity Among Undergraduate Students at UW-Milwaukee”
Mentor: Shabnam Nikravan, Public Health
Poster #23

Food insecurity can be defined as the inaccessibility of nutritious food to maintain a functional and healthy lifestyle. Addressing food insecurity on college campuses is a challenge due to the complex contributing factors among students. Ongoing food insecurity may lead to an array of negative health consequences such as a greater susceptibility to mental illness, increased risk of disease, and declining academic performance. Due to the harmful effects of food insecurity, it is paramount that a health promotion program targeting this need is implemented on college campuses. After identifying risk factors for food insecurity from the existing literature on the five stages of the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM), we would utilize a modified PRECEDE-PROCEED framework to identify where campus policies and assets may be failing to address them. Using this information, we would then create a hypothetical evidence-based program to reduce food insecurity among undergraduate students at UW-Milwaukee. Data collected using the USDA Six-Item Short Form Food Security would assess food insecurity prevalence on campus and provide evidence to bring to potential stakeholders for possible changes to policies and services. The findings of this research would be synthesized to include a logic model framed around evidence-based strategies and the constructs of the SEM. This program could be expected to functionally reduce food insecurity on UWM’s campus through expansion of campus assets and more inclusive policies. Our program would address the multifactorial etiology associated with food insecurity among undergraduate students on college campuses. It is our hope that expansion of programs would promote student usage of campus assets. Additionally, our data would likely provide evidence to support the expansion of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to increase eligibility among college students.