06, Apr 2018 | CJP Team

An online survey conducted by the Wisconsin HOPE lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that many college students in the United States said that they had gone hungry in the previous month, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. According to the study, researchers have reported on 43,000 students at 66 educational institutions in 20 American states and the District of Columbia. This includes more than 20,000 students at four-year universities and colleges, as well students at community colleges that typically According to the study, 40% of students at four-year institutions said they could not afford to eat balanced meals in the month preceding the survey. For two-year institutions, this figure was 46%. 20% of students at four-year institutions endorsed the statement, “Were you ever hungry but didn’t eat because there wasn’t enough money for food?” For two-year institutions, this figure was 24%. One of the researchers, Jed Richardson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that students’ food insecurity could be a result of high costs of living, including tuition in some cases. The researchers also found that marginalised communities were disproportionately impacted by hunger. These included African American and Native American students, LGBT students, and former foster children. Richardson said that since the survey covered just a small portion of American colleges, i.e. those who wanted to take part, the results cannot be extrapolated to the overall American student population. The complete study, titled ‘Still Hungry and Homeless in College’ may be read here.