Campus Food Pantry Use Is Linked to Better Health Among Public University Students. 2022

Suzanna M Martinez, and Gwen M Chodur, and Erin E Esaryk, and Sevan Kaladijian, and Lorrene D Ritchie, and Michael Grandner
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. Electronic address: suzanna.martinez@ucsf.edu.

To examine retrospectively whether access to a campus food pantry (CFP) is related to improvements in sleep, mental health, and physical health among college students in a public university system. Retrospective, cross-sectional study of student CFP users who completed an online survey in the summer of 2019. Ten-campus University of California system. A total of 1,855 students completed the survey. Students reported the number of CFP visits in a usual week or month. Students retrospectively rated their perceived health, depressive symptoms, and sleep sufficiency before and after having food pantry access. The difference between pre- and post-food pantry access responses was calculated. Path analysis was used to examine direct and indirect paths of the relationship between CFP visits with self-reported changes in depressive symptoms and perceived health through positive changes in self-reported sleep sufficiency, controlling for sociodemographic factors. More monthly CFP visits were directly related to decreased depressive symptoms and improved perceived health (βdepressive = 0.10, P < 0.001; βhealth = 0.12, P < 0.001). In addition, more CFP visits were related to improved sleep sufficiency (β = 0.09, P = 0.001), which in turn was related to a decrease in depressive symptoms (β = 0.24, P = 0.001; indirect effect: 0.02, P < 0.01) and improved perceived health (β = 0.23, P < 0.001; indirect effect: 0.02, P < 0.01). Findings suggest that college campus emergency food access is associated with self-reported improvements in student health outcomes associated with food security. Until more long-term solutions that improve college student nutrition are developed, food pantries may be filling a gap.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D003430 Cross-Sectional Studies Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time. Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D005523 Food Supply The production and movement of food items from point of origin to use or consumption. Food Supply Chain,Chain, Food Supply,Food Supplies,Food Supply Chains,Supplies, Food,Supply Chain, Food,Supply Chains, Food,Supply, Food
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012189 Retrospective Studies Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons. Retrospective Study,Studies, Retrospective,Study, Retrospective
D013334 Students Individuals enrolled in a school or formal educational program. School Enrollment,Enrollment, School,Enrollments, School,School Enrollments,Student
D014495 Universities Educational institutions providing facilities for teaching and research and authorized to grant academic degrees. University

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