CORVALLIS, Ore.—Nearly six in 10 students at an Oregon university could not afford to get enough healthy food at one point in the school year, a problem that threatens their school performance as well as their physical and emotional health, researchers say.
Rising tuition fees, low incomes and a lack of food and social support systems -- such as food stamps -- are some of the reasons for this high level of "food insecurity" among students, according to the study authors.
"Based on other research that's been done, we expected some amount of food concerns among college students," Daniel Lopez-Cevallos, associate director of research at Oregon State University's Center for Latino/Latina Studies and Engagement, said in a university news release. "But it was shocking to find food insecurity of this severity."