Basic Needs Research

This section contains a listing of scholarly journal articles that we find essential to the field of query. These articles are arranged by theme, and while some are more general, they all relate in some way to the experience of being a college student and experiencing Basic Needs Insecurity. This is not meant to be a complete listing of all scholarly articles in existence on this subject, but a selection of some of the articles we find to be the most impactful. This list can be a jumping off point for further research.

Academic journal articles (unless noted otherwise) about student mental and physical health experiences as they intersect with basic needs insecurity:

Ayala, A., Meier, B.M. A human rights approach to the health implications of food and nutrition insecurity. Public Health Rev 38, 10 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40985-017-0056-5

Berkowitz, Seth A., Sanjay Basu, James B. Meigs, and Hilary K. Seligman. 2018. “Food Insecurity and Health Care Expenditures in the United States, 2011–2013.” Health Services Research 53 (3): 1600–1620. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.12730.

Bruening, M., Brennhofer, S., van Woerder, I., Todd, M., & Laksa, M. (2016). Factors related to the high rates of food insecurity among diverse, urban college freshmen. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(9), 1450–1457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2016.04.004

Coakley, Kathryn E., Sarita Cargas, Marygold Walsh-Dilley, and Heather Mechler. 2022. “Basic Needs Insecurities Are Associated with Anxiety, Depression, and Poor Health Among University Students in the State of New Mexico.” Journal of Community Health, February. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-022-01073-9.

Diamond, K. K., Stebleton, M. J., & delMas, R. C. (2019). Exploring the Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Mental Health in an Undergraduate Student Population. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 57(5), 546–560. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2019.1679158

El Zein, Aseel, Karla P. Shelnutt, Sarah Colby, Melissa J. Vilaro, Wenjun Zhou, Geoffrey Greene, Melissa D. Olfert, Kristin Riggsbee, Jesse Stabile Morrell, and Anne E. Mathews. 2019. “Prevalence and Correlates of Food Insecurity among U.S. College Students: A Multi-Institutional Study.” BMC Public Health 19 (1): 660. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6943-6.

Farahbakhsh, J., Hanbazaza, M., Ball, G. D. C., Farmer, A. P., Maximova, K., & Willows, N. D. (2017). Food insecure student clients of a university-based food bank have compromised health, dietary intake and academic quality. Nutrition & Dietetics, 74(1), 67–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/1747-0080.12307

Healthy Eating Research. Healthy Eating Research Nutrition Guidelines for the Charitable Food System. (2020, August 10). https://healthyeatingresearch.org/research/healthy-eating-research-nutrition-guidelines-for-the-charitable-food-system/ (report)

Huelskamp, A., Waity, J., & Russell, J. (2019). Effects of campus food insecurity on obesogenic behaviors in college students. Journal of American College Health, 69(5), 572-575. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1684298

Martinez, S. M., Grandner, M. A., Nazmi, A., Canedo, E. R., & Ritchie, L. D. (2019). Pathways from food insecurity to health outcomes among California university students. Nutrients, 11(1419), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11061419

Meza, A., Altman, E., Martinez, S., & Leung, C. W. (2019). “It’s a Feeling That One Is Not Worth Food”: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Psychosocial Experience and Academic Consequences of Food Insecurity Among College Students. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 119(10). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2018.09.006

Goldrick-Rab, S. (2021). Students are humans first. Journal of Postsecondary Student Success, 1(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.33009/fsop_jpss129262

Washington Post. 2022. “Biden Administration Urges Colleges to Use Covid Relief Funds to Meet Students’ Basic Needs,” January 20, 2022, Online edition. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/01/20/colleges-pandemic-aid-students-biden/

Coleman-Jensen, Alisha, Matthew P. Rabbitt, Christian A. Gregory, and Anita Singh. 2020. “Household Food Security in the United States in 2020.” 2020. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=102075.

Here you will find journal articles and reports that relate to the impacts of basic needs insecurity and academic success of college students. There is a focus on drop-out rates and the long-term impacts associated with the stress from having to obtain basic needs for the student population.

Baker-Smith, C., Coca, V., Goldrick-Rab, S., Looker, E., Richardson, B., & Williams, T. (2020). #RealCollege 2020: Five years of evidence on campus basic needs insecurity. The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice.

Beam, M. (2020). Nontraditional students’ experiences with food insecurity: A qualitative study of undergraduate students. Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 68(3), 141–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/07377363.2020.1792254

Cady, Clare L. 2014. “Food Insecurity as a Student Issue.” Journal of College and Character 15 (4): 265–72. https://doi.org/10.1515/jcc-2014-0031.

Hagedorn, Rebecca L, Laura H McArthur, Lanae B Hood, Maureen Berner, Elizabeth T Anderson Steeves, Carol L Connell, Elizabeth Wall-Bassett, et al. 2019. “Expenditure, Coping, and Academic Behaviors among Food-Insecure College Students at 10 Higher Education Institutes in the Appalachian and Southeastern Regions.” Current Developments in Nutrition 3 (6): nzz058. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzz058.

Khosla, N., Gamba, R., Taylor, S., Adediji, L., Bovey, J., Engelman, A., Jones-Bey, A., Lan, T. K., Vo, H., Washington, V., & Inch, E. S. (2019). Academic goal-setting among college students experiencing food insecurity, housing instability, and other challenges in a diverse public university. Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, 29(1), 3–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2020.1678810

Maroto, M. E., Snelling, A., & Linck, H. (2015). Food insecurity among community college students: Prevalence and association with grade point average. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 39(6), 515–526. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2013.850758

Mechler, Heather, Kathryn Coakley, Marygold Walsh-Dilley, and Sarita Cargas. 2021. “Examining the Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Academic Performance: Implications for Diversity and Equity in Higher Education.” Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/15210251211053863.

Martinez, S. M., Esaryk, E. E., Moffat, L., & Ritchie, L. (2021). Redefining Basic Needs for Higher Education: It’s More Than Minimal Food and Housing According to California University Students. American Journal of Health Promotion, 35(6), 089011712199229. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890117121992295

Martinez, S. M., Frongillo, E. A., Leung, C., & Ritchie, L. (2020). No food for thought: Food insecurity is related to poor mental health and lower academic performance among students in California’s public university system. Journal of Health Psychology, 25(12), 1930–1939. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318783028 

​​Martinez, S. M., Maynard, K., & Ritchie, L. (2016). University of California Student Food Access and Security Study. Global Food Initiative. https://www.ucop.edu/global-food-initiative/best-practices/food-access-security/student-food-access-and-security-study.pdf

Neill, M. O., & Maguire, J. (2017). College students self-reported food insecurity and correlations with health and academic performance. Journal of Behavioral and Social Sciences, 4(1), 34–40.

Patton-López, M. M., López-Cevallos, D. F., Cancel-Tirado, D. I., & Vazquez, L. (2014). Prevalence and correlates of food insecurity among students attending a midsize rural university in Oregon. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 46(3), 209–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2013.10.007

Payne-Sturges, D. C., Tjaden, A., Caldeira, K. M., Vincent, K. B., & Arria, A. M. (2018). Student hunger on campus : Food insecurity among college students and implications for academic institutions. American Journal of Health Promotion, 32(2), 349–354. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890117117719620

Phillips, Erica, Anne McDaniel, and Alicia Croft. 2018. “Food Insecurity and Academic Disruption Among College Students.” Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice 55 (4): 353–7c2. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2018.1470003.

Speirs, K. E., Grutzmacher, S. K., Munger, A. L., & Ottusch, T. M. (2023). How Do U.S. Colleges and Universities Help Students Address Basic Needs? A National Inventory of Resources for Food and Housing Insecurity. Educational Researcher, 52(1), 16–28.

Walsh-Dilley, M., Coakley, K. E., Mechler, H., & Cargas, S. (2022). Understanding the double burden: a mixed method analysis of overlapping food and housing insecurity among college students at a minority serving institution. Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, 1-14.

Weaver, Robert R., Nicole A. Vaughn, Sean P. Hendricks, Penny E. McPherson-Myers, Qian Jia, Shari L. Willis, and Kevin P. Rescigno. 2020. “University Student Food Insecurity and Academic Performance.” Journal of American College Health 68 (7): 727–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1600522.

These articles relate to the rising cost of college attendance in the United States and how this is impacting the ability of students from diverse backgrounds to succeed in higher education and meet their own basic needs.

Trostel, P. A. (2009). The Fiscal Impacts of College Attainment. Research in Higher Education, 51(3), 220–247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-009-9156-5 

Vullo, B. (2021). The Funding (or Lack Thereof) of Public Universities within the United States. Academia Letters, Article 2742. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2742

Webster, J., Fletcher, C., Cornett, A., & Knaff, C. (2021). Student Financial Wellness Survey: Fall 2020 Semester Results. National Aggregate Report. Trellis Company. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3987501

Wolla, Scott A. 2014. “The Rising Cost of College: Tuition, Financial Aid, and Price Discrimination.” Economic Research - Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, January 2014. https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/page1-econ/2014/01/01/the-rising-cost-of-college-tuition-financial-aid-and-price-discrimination/.

In the below sections you will find articles discussing how colleges are working to address basic needs security on their campuses.

Bydalek, K., Williams, S. G., Fruh, S. M., Sims, B. M., McCardle, J., Minchew, L. A., Graves, R. J., Elkins, J. C., Jones, L., & Sittig, S. (2020). Food insecurity among nursing students: A mixed methods study. Nursing Forum, 55(4), 547–552. https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12460

Davis, H., Sisson, S. B., & Clifton, S. (2020). A call for evidence to support food security interventions on college campuses. Journal of American College Health, 69(6), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1705829 

DeMunter, J., Rdesinski, R., Vintro, A., & Carney, P. (2020). Food Insecurity Among Students in Six Health Professions’ Training Programs. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 58(4), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2020.1796690 

Fairbrother, E. B. and G. (2022, April 11). Hidden in plain sight: Hunger on college campuses. Santa Fe New Mexican. https://www.santafenewmexican.com/opinion/my_view/hidden-in-plain-sight-hunger-on-college-campuses/article_7de530e2-7c7a-11eb-b8a5-37b9fc632119.html 

Freudenberg, N., Goldrick-Rab, S., & Poppendieck, J. (2019). College Students and SNAP: The New Face of Food Insecurity in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 109(12), 1652–1658. 

New Mexico Voices for Children. (2021, September 20). Ending childhood food insecurity in New Mexico. https://www.nmvoices.org/archives/15258#:~:text=Evidence%2Dbased%20programs%2C%20such%20as,security%20and%20address%20the%20root

United States Government Accountablity Office. (2020, April 28). Food insecurity: Better Information could help eligible college students access Federal Food Assistance Benefits. Food Insecurity: Better Information Could Help Eligible College Students Access Federal Food Assistance Benefits. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-19-95 

Belcher, J. R., & DeForge, B. R. (2012). Social Stigma and Homelessness: The Limits of Social Change. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 22(8), 929–946. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2012.707941

Broton, K. M. (2019). A review of estimates of housing insecurity and homelessness among students in U.S. higher education. Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, 29(1), 25–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2020.1677009

Broton, K. M., & Goldrick-Rab, S. (2018). Going without: An exploration of food and housing insecurity among undergraduates. Educational Researcher, 47(2), 121–133. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X17741303

Crutchfield, R. M., Chambers, R. M., Carpena, A., & McCloyn, T. N. (2019). Getting help: an exploration of student experiences with a campus program addressing basic needs insecurity. Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, 29(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2020.1677010

Curry, S. R., Morton, M., Matjasko, J. L., Dworsky, A., Samuels, G. M., & Schlueter, D. (2017). Youth homelessness and vulnerability: How does couch surfing fit? American Journal of Community Psychology, 60(1–2), 17–24.

Hallett, R. E., & Crutchfield, R. (2017). Homelessness and housing insecurity in higher education: A trauma-informed approach to research, policy, and practice. ASHE Higher Education Report, 43(6), 1–129. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aehe.20122

Hallett, R. E., & Freas, A. (2017). Community College Students’ Experiences with Homelessness and Housing Insecurity. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 42(10), 724–739. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2017.1356764 

​​ Haskett, M. E., Majumder, S., Kotter- Grühn, D., & Gutierrez, I. (2020). The role of university students’ wellness in links between homelessness, food insecurity, and academic success. Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, 30(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2020.1733815

Morton, M. H., Dworsky, A., Matjasko, J. L., Curry, S. R., Schlueter, D., Chávez, R., & Farrell, A. F. (2018). Prevalence and correlates of youth homelessness in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health, 62(1), 14–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.10.006

O’Neill, M., & Bowers, P. H. (2019). Resilience among homeless college students: co-constructed explorations. Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, 29(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2020.1676984

Silva, M. R., Kleinert, W. L., Sheppard, A. V., Cantrell, K. A., Freeman-Coppadge, D. J., Tsoy, E., Roberts, T., & Pearrow, M. (2017). The relationship between food security, housing stability, and school performance among college students in an urban university. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 19(3), 284–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025115621918

Smith, R., & Knechtel, L. (2019). When Student Housing is a Car: In College and Homeless. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 57(3), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2019.1671854 

Trawver, K., Broton, K. M., Maguire, J., & Crutchfield, R. (2019). Researching food and housing insecurity among America’s college students: lessons learned and future steps. Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, 29(1), 39–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2020.1678809

Trawver, K. R., & Hedwig, T. (2019). Food and housing insecurity and homelessness among students in an open-enrollment university. Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, 29(1), 57–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2020.1676987 

Chaparro, M. P., Zaghloul, S. S., Peter, H., & Dobbs, J. (2009). Understanding the formation of general computer self-efficacy. Public Health Nutrition, 12(11), 2097–2103. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980009990735