Food scarcity on university campuses: what is the problem and how can we fix it?

The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated the issue of food insecurity among university students, but even before the pandemic, increasing numbers of students had been reporting food insecurity.

This is largely because of rising tuition and living costs combined with declining state support for students and the privatisation of food provision on campuses.

Although this is a problem the world over, it’s a particular issue in Australia, where there’s a high proportion of international students, a relative lack of cheap subsidised food on many Australian university campuses and a low level of awareness surrounding the issue.

Researching food insecurity

Concerned about the silence around the issue, my team and I decided to do what universities do best: research.

We have been working on a qualitative, interview-based University of Melbourne to understand student food insecurity on our campus.

The project showed that many students at the University of Melbourne experience food insecurity, and this is especially evident among international students. Some said they had had to skip meals. More commonly, students reported having had to compromise the diversity and nutritional quality of their diets because of a lack of money, time or information.

Several students were vegetarians “by necessity rather than choice”. Others referred to intermittent fasting as a strategy to weight loss following enrolment at university.

Covid-19 greatly exacerbated food insecurity for many of our international students, but some students said the pandemic had made it easier for them to access food, because of the food-relief measures that emerged, as well as the increased Centrelink payments.

New food voucher schemes and the university’s free cooked meal programme, all developed during the pandemic, were also praised.

Best universities for reducing inequalities
Best universities for recycling and sustainability
Fighting food waste and inequality as a student in the US
Sustainable six: tips to becoming a greener student

What can universities do?

In North America, universities and governments have often acknowledged and addressed food insecurity, but universities have tended to concentrate on providing emergency assistance via the establishment of food pantries.

This approach risks stigmatising students and fails to address students’ lack of access to fresh food, since most pantries contain only non-perishable items. As one of our interviewees told us: “God, I miss fruit.”

A notable exception to this in the US is the CalFresh initiative at the University of California.

There are some promising moves in Australia thinking creatively around the issue of food security in particular, and food more generally, such as Second Bite and the Nourish Network. Universities have been especially active during the pandemic in developing new schemes, but it’s important they keep up this work if they are to truly solve the issue.

Universities could also work to reduce food waste. Since many universities have agriculture departments and diverse landholdings, it may be time to experiment with ethically produced, local and nutritious food from university farms.

What can students do?

Within the context of Covid-19, we’ve seen various student-led initiatives pushing collaboration and information exchange. Students at the University of Melbourne have been involved in food bank programmes and initiatives such as the student-run Fair Food Challenge aimed at improving campus food systems.

Throughout lockdown, students have passed on information about free or subsidised food programmes to their peers, spreading awareness and garnering student support.

Students reported sharing food packages they received from not-for-profit organisations, splitting costs of groceries, cooking communally, jointly purchasing supermarket subscriptions, group dumpster diving sessions, and creating small food reserves at home for housemates.

While this has helped several students, there is an urgent need for a more coordinated approach to equip students to support each other. University students in the US have set great examples for such efforts, including establishing on-campus food pantries, meal recovery programmes (where students distribute leftover food), and meal swipe initiatives (where students exchange meals), all of which are feasible and practical options.

In these ways, students and universities can work together to educate and inform the cohort about food insecurity.