Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Texas Woman's University, Science and Research Complex 204, P.O. Box 425888, Denton, TX 76024, USA.
Center for Research Design and Analysis, Texas Woman's University, 6700 Fannin, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Nutrients. 2022 Jul 8;14(14):2807. doi: 10.3390/nu14142807.
The purpose of this study was to explore barriers Texas Woman's University (TWU) students face in accessing on-campus food pantries. This cross-sectional, survey-based study was conducted in Fall 2021. Students' use of the food pantries and barriers to utilization, including qualitative questions, were evaluated using descriptive statistics and thematic analyses. Students ( = 529) completed the survey. Despite a high prevalence of food insecurity (49.2%), most students reported never using the pantries (89.8%). Almost half of the students were unaware that these pantries existed on campus (47.8%). More than one in four students believed there were barriers to accessing the pantries, with time tissues, lack of transportation, limited food pantry hours of operation, and social stigma most commonly cited as major barriers to access. Food insecurity remains an urgent problem at TWU since the prevalence has remained high since 2019 despite the institutions' efforts to reduce it. One of those resources has not been utilized as expected, which might impede improvements in food security among students. TWU on-campus food pantries can use these findings to address major barriers by offering after-hours access through the libraries or campus police, partnering with public transportation, and normalizing accessing food assistance.
本研究旨在探讨德克萨斯女子大学（TWU）学生在使用校内食品储藏室时所面临的障碍。这是一项基于横断面调查的研究，于 2021 年秋季进行。使用描述性统计和主题分析评估了学生对食品储藏室的使用情况以及利用障碍，包括定性问题。共有 529 名学生完成了调查。尽管食物无保障的情况很普遍（49.2%），但大多数学生报告从未使用过食品储藏室（89.8%）。将近一半的学生不知道校园内有这些食品储藏室（47.8%）。超过四分之一的学生认为进入食品储藏室存在障碍，时间安排、缺乏交通工具、食品储藏室营业时间有限以及社会耻辱感是进入食品储藏室的主要障碍。尽管 TWU 机构已努力减少这种情况，但自 2019 年以来，食物无保障的比例一直居高不下，这表明该问题仍很紧迫。其中一个资源并没有像预期的那样得到利用，这可能会阻碍学生的食品安全状况得到改善。TWU 校内食品储藏室可以利用这些发现，通过图书馆或校园警察提供课后访问、与公共交通合作以及使获取食品援助正常化来解决主要障碍。
