Comparisons Of Food Insecurity Correlates During And Before The COVID-19 Pandemic Among Married Students Attending A University In Appalachia

Objectives: Measure the food security status of married students with and without children during the Covid-19 pandemic, compare food secure and insecure households on correlates during and before the pandemic, and identify predictors for food insecurity. Design: Online questionnaire. Setting: University in Appalachia. Participants: Married students (n=169). Main Outcome Measures: Food insecurity status, dietary patterns, food access strategies, social support, demographics. Analysis: Descriptive, chi-square, linear regression. Results: Overall food insecurity rate was 29.6%, 32.9% for households with children, and 26.4% for households without children. Overall, about 20% reported food access was worse during verses before the pandemic. With greater access, food insecure students would have eaten more vegetables (57.5%), red meat (52.5%), whereas food secure students identified vegetables (57.5%), fruit (28.3%). Food access strategies identified were "prepared food at home" (52.1%), "purchased cheap, processed food" (34.3%) for the overall sample. "My spouse" was the most helpful source of support for 77.7% of the sample. Conclusions and Implications: The pandemic had a more severe unfavorable impact on the dietary patterns of food insecure than food secure households with children, suggesting a need for expanded programs to facilitate food access for married students, particularly those with children.