Post-Secondary School Food Insecurity

May 6

Hello everyone! I’m Courtney Lau, VFR’s Program Coordinator, and I help to oversee communications and development here at VFR as well as curating our bi-monthly newsletters (the one you’re reading right now!).

I recently graduated from the University of British Columbia with a BSc. Food, Nutrition, and Health, Min. Commerce, and I’m excited to be continuing to work and learn with VFR. Throughout my degree, I have learned a lot about campus food insecurity and the hidden challenges students face. I’d love to share with you some information about that today!

Recent studies have shown that the prevalence of food insecurity is higher among Canadian postsecondary students than the average Canadian. More specifically, at UBC, the rate of food insecurity is 3 to 4 times higher than the provincial average.

Through the 2021-2022 April AMS Service Council Report, the AMS Food Bank located on UBC Vancouver campus has seen a 495% increase in visits since 2020. With inflation and rising food costs, it is unlikely that these numbers will go down in the short-term.

Student research report findings on the perceptions of food access at UBC

This shocking data compelled me to take a course, which allowed me to conduct research with three of my peers, UBC Wellbeing, UBC SEEDS, and the faculty of Land and Food Systems. Our research aimed to add context and understanding within the UBC community on food justice as well as providing a platform for students to voice their perceptions – in particular, marginalized groups such as first-generation students, racialized students, 2SLGBTQA+, international students, and students facing disabilities. Along with my peers, our paper, Understanding Student Perceptions of Just, Equitable, and Dignified Food Access, was published and can be accessed to the public on the UBC Seeds Library in 2021.

Here are some of our key findings:

🍊 Students found it important to destigmatize food access, accommodate dietary needs/cultures, and increase access to food resources.

🍏 It should be the institution’s responsbility to promote food security and food programs without heavily relying on students to take action.

🍒 UBC can help destigmatize food insecurity. One focus group participant made a comment on how to destigmatize this issue:

“Make marginalized students look like the majority instead of the minority to reduce stigma [...]. This can be seen through creating partnerships with small food initiatives, like LFS Wednesday Night Dinners, can help [UBC] reach out to marginalized groups without targeting them directly.”

🥪 Current (2021) UBC initiatives are not enough to help students experience just, equitable, and dignified food access.

While UBC has programs to promote food security, such as the Land and Food Systems Wednesday Night Dinners (LFS WND; student run), which provides low cost meals in a community setting; UBC Sprouts (student run); Agora Café (student run); FOOOD Café (pay what you can meals; currently closed); AMS Food Bank; and bursaries, there is still a long way to go to help students feel heard and supported in regards to food security.

After evaluation, my peers and I made the following recommendations to UBC:

Provide less expensive and more culturally appropriate foods on campus through collaboration with chefs, dieticians, and other UBC food service stakeholders to create a menu that reflects the diverse backgrounds of UBC students.
Increase funding for widely used food resources, such as student-led initiatives (Agora Café, LFS WND, Sprouts Community Eats) to provide new, more efficient equipment and funding for a variety of foods.
Relocate current and future food resources on campus: If you have ever visited UBC campus or the AMS Food Bank, you might be aware that the food bank is in the basement floor of the Nest/Student Union Building. Re(locating) resources to higher traffic and visible areas is important for facilitating continued use; help students feel more dignified, as they no longer have to travel to more secluded areas to seek help; and create a greater sense of community through a continued awareness of resources.

Although this was a student research paper with a small sample size, I think it provided deeper insights into how UBC and other institutions can help their students achieve greater food security.

Student Food Insecurity Among Students (“Starving Student Ideology”)

The “starving student ideology” is the normalized thought that students are supposed to eat poor quality foods and be “broke” due to the economic burdens of tuition, textbooks, and/or rent. Food insecure students can feel that they may not be worthy of getting food despite being hungry due to this ideology. Not only can this hinder students in seeking food resources, it also comes with a multitude of health implications, such as being more susceptible to diabetes, infectious diseases, poor oral health, and chronic pain. Food insecurity can also affect mental health; and individuals who are food insecure are more likely to have depression and anxiety disorders.

But why does this have to be normalized?

It shouldn’t be! With the cost of living on the rise, 56.8% of students faced food insecurity in 2021 across Canada. More specifically, international students, 2SLGBTQA+ students, single parents, Indigenous, and POC are disproportionately experiencing food insecurity. Read more about this through the 2021 National Student Food Insecurity Report by Meal Exchange.

Therefore, it is up to the collective work of institutions, students, and the community to destigmatize food insecurity and increase awareness/education to provide just, equitable, and dignified food access. Food should be inclusive, accessible, and culturally appropriate to all — students and beyond!

2022 UBC Students’ Hungry for a Change Protest

On October 2022, UBC students held a walkout organized by Sprouts to protest the rise of food insecurity, reduced funding, and a perceived lack of support from UBC. UBC’s allocation towards the AMS Food Bank was about to drop from $90,000 to $25,000, despite experiencing a 495% user increase; Sprouts, the student-lead café, would be dropping from $27,500 to $15,000.

A quote from an open letter from Sprouts to UBC Interim President Deborah Buszard, students wrote:

“We continue to give away free meals every day, host by-donation produce markets, and operate a free community fridge, freezer, and pantry to provide food 24/7….This work happens because of the labour of unpaid students, who are already vulnerable to the affordability crisis… Student exploitation cannot be our university’s long-term solution to food insecurity.”

I vividly remember the collective action of my student community towards this financial budget that did not adequately address food insecurity on campus. Re-visiting these articles and letters brings back unpleasant feelings of anger and disappointment. UBC provides an abundance of ways to get involved to promote the conversation of increasing food security (like my research paper); nevertheless, it was distressing that they didn’t fund key food programs that help to alleviate immediate and urgent food insecurity among students.

Ways to Help (Student Resources)

Spread awareness! Advocating for campus food security shouldn’t have to be solely on the students to make a change. It takes an interdisciplinary approach and the whole community to have an open conversation about supporting students and others facing food insecurity.

If you or a loved one is in post-secondary education and needs support please check out these resources:

UBC: