No Food for Thought: Documenting the Prevalence of Food Insecurity among Medical Students at One Western University

Abstract

Students, as a vulnerable population, experience high rates of food insecurity. Medical students’ needs have not been fully assessed and often go unmet. Food security among medical students was surveyed using USDA’s 6-item Food Security Module. Respondents (N = 170) were scored as food secure, food insecure, or very low food secure. Of 170 participants, 87 (51%) experienced food insecurity in the past year, five times the national average of 2018 (11.1%). Sixty (35%) respondents reported experiencing low food security, and 27 (16%) respondents reported very low food security placing them at risk of not meeting other basic needs, limiting academic pursuits.