Navigating Hidden Hunger: An Exploratory Analysis of the Lived Experience of Food Insecurity among College Students

College students are a vulnerable population to food insecurity (FI), which has significant implications for academic and health outcomes. The aims of this study were to explore the meaning of FI and its impact on students’ lived experiences and food decisions, facilitators and barriers to food access as a student, and students’ proposed solutions to address FI. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with thirty students from a large, public land grant university in the Southeast United States. Grounded theory methodology was utilized with a constant comparative coding strategy to guide thematic analysis. Nine main themes emerged. Themes included the perceived meaning of FI, students’ lived experience with FI, and food related coping strategies and decisions. Facilitators to food access were found to be social-networks and on-campus resources, while barriers to food access included financial burden of higher education, and stigma and social comparison. Proposed solutions to FI aligned with two main themes: food access solutions and information access solutions. Both of these themes included multiple subthemes that provided specific suggestions to address food insecurity for students. The findings aid in understanding the complex lived experience of FI and can inform future efforts to center student experiences, perceptions, and feedback into institutional frameworks to best meet student needs.