Food Insecurity and Academic Achievement Among College Students at a Public University in the United States

Using survey data collected from 3,245 university students, we examined correlates of frequency of food insecurity and of grade point average (GPA), the association between food insecurity and GPA, and whether food insecurity mediates the associations between student characteristics and GPA. The results indicated that Black, Hispanic, Pell Grant-eligible, and first-generation college students were relatively frequently food insecure and that students who were more often food insecure, Black, Hispanic, or eligible for Pell Grants, tended to have lower GPAs. Moreover, indirect pathways from student characteristics to GPA via food insecurity partially mediated associations between student characteristics and GPA. These indirect pathways suggest that a portion of the association between being Black and lower GPA, for example, may be accounted for by relatively greater frequency of food insecurity among Black students. Policy implications are presented to suggest how universities, in collaboration with local and federal programs, might reduce food insecurity on campus.