Food Insecurity Pipeline: How Latinx Immigration-Impacted Students in Higher Education Navigate the Food Insecurity Cycle

Abstract

Systemic inequities increase the risk of material hardships, including food insecurity, among immigrant households. Informed by 33 qualitative interviews with Latina/o/x undergraduate students who are undocumented or U.S. citizens with undocumented parents, we examine their experiences of food insecurity in their day-to-day lives. We find a food insecurity pipeline as students’ experiences of food insecurity begin early in childhood in their homes and continue in their adulthood on their college campuses. Food insecurity has implications for their well-being, and they rely on their strengths and networks to survive food insecurity. The study has implications for immigration policy, practice, and higher education institutions serving this vulnerable population.