“You Feel Out of Place”: A PhotoVoice Study of the Impact of Food Insecurity on College Students

PURPOSE: There is a high prevalence of food insecurity on college campuses in the United States. Quantitative research has shown that experiencing food insecurity during college is associated with adverse academic, health, and social-emotional outcomes. Research is needed to better understand how food insecurity impacts the lived experiences of students. This study aims to understand students' experiences of food insecurity, with a particular focus on their coping strategies and the effects of food insecurity on their health and academic achievement. METHODS: An adaptation of the PhotoVoice method was used to understand how food insecurity affected 10 college students at a large, Midwestern university. Students submitted photos around their experiences of food insecurity and completed an in-depth interview about their photos. The interviews were analyzed for thematic content using an iterative, inductive approach. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from the results: (1) economic coping mechanisms, (2) behavioral coping mechanisms; (3) alternate ways to acquire food; and (4) psychosocial and academic consequences. CONCLUSION: These findings provide context to the negative impacts of food insecurity on students' academic and health outcomes, and add to the growing body of qualitative research that is needed to inform practices and policies to address food insecurity on college campuses.