College Campus Food Pantry Program Evaluation: What Barriers Do Students Face to Access On-Campus Food Pantries?

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 (n = 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.

Implementation of a food scholarship program improves nutrient intake and dietary quality of college students.

Objective: To determine the impact of a new food scholarship program on nutrient intake and dietary quality. Participants: College students (n = 49), female (78%), single (76%), average age 28 years, and white (49%). Methods: Fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat products and nonperishable foods were distributed twice a month. A one-group pretest post-test intervention compared baseline and 10 weeks data. Food security was measured and three-day food records assessed nutrient intake, Health Eating Index (HEI)-2015 (total and component) scores, and food group servings. Paired t-test at baseline and 10 weeks were performed (SPSS v25) (p < 0.05). Results: Prevalence of food insecurity did not change (baseline 53%, 10 weeks 47%). Protein, (p = 0.001), niacin (p = 0.002), magnesium (p = 0.034), phosphorous (p = 0.039), potassium (p = 0.019), and vegetable servings (p = 0.034) intake increased. Total HEI-2015 scores remained unchanged but HEI-2015 vegetable scores increased (p = 0.023). Conclusion: Increased intake of some nutrients and vegetable servings were achieved with the food scholarship program.

Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions on College Students' Dietary Quality and Experience of the Food Environment.

The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions sent college students online and off campus, potentially reducing access to healthy food. The objective of this cross-sectional, internet-based study was to use qualitative and quantitative survey methods to evaluate whether COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Texas, USA affected college students' ability to buy food, how/what they shopped for, how they prepared food, what they ate, how they felt about eating, and overall dietary quality (assessed using Healthy Eating Index [HEI] scores). Survey responses from 502 students (87.5% female; 59.6% nonwhite, mean age 27.5 ± 0.4 years, >50% graduate students) were analyzed. The qualitative analysis of open-ended questions revealed 110 codes, 17 subthemes, and six themes. Almost all students experienced changes in at least one area, the most common being changes in shopping habits. Participants with low or very low food security had lower HEI scores compared to food secure students (p = 0.047). Black students were more likely to report changes in their ability to buy food (p = 0.035). The COVID-19 restrictions varied in their impact on students' ability to access sufficient healthy food, with some students severely affected. Thus, universities should establish procedures for responding to emergencies, including identifying at-risk students and mobilizing emergency funds and/or food assistance.

The costs and calorie content of à la carte food items purchased by students during school lunch.

School environments influence student food choices. À la carte foods and beverages are often low nutrient and energy dense. This study assessed how much money students spent for these foods, and the total kilocalories purchased per student during the 2012-2013 school year. Six elementary and four intermediate schools in the Houston area provided daily food purchase transaction data, and the cost and the calories for each item. Chi-square analysis assessed differences in the number of students purchasing à la carte items by grade level and school free/reduced-price meal (FRP) eligibility. Analysis of covariance assessed grade level differences in cost and calories of weekly purchases, controlling for FRP eligibility. Intermediate grade students spent significantly more on à la carte food purchases and purchased more calories (both p < 0.001) than elementary school students. Lower socioeconomic status (SES) elementary and intermediate school students purchased fewer à la carte foods compared to those in higher SES schools (p < 0.001). Intermediate school students purchased more à la carte foods and calories from à la carte foods than elementary students. Whether the new competitive food rules in schools improve student food selection and purchase, and dietary intake habits across all grade levels remains unknown.

Younger Elementary School Students Waste More School Lunch Foods than Older Elementary School Students.

BACKGROUND: Children may not receive nutritional benefits from school lunch meals if they do not eat the foods served. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether there were differences in school lunch foods consumed and wasted by grade level of elementary school students. DESIGN: In this cross-sectional study, anonymous meal observations were conducted after students selected their reimbursable school lunch meals in the cafeteria lunch line. The amounts of foods selected and consumed were recorded using the quarter waste method and food waste was calculated using the information recorded. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: During the spring of 2013, eight elementary schools (50% low income) enrolling children in kindergarten through grade 5 in one school district in the Houston, TX, area were selected by the Child Nutrition Director. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The amount of calories and foods consumed and the percentage wasted were assessed. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Analysis of covariance and post hoc analysis were used to examine food consumption and plate waste by grade level (kindergarten and grade 1 [K-Gr1], grades 2 and 3 [Gr2-3], and grades 4 and 5 [Gr4-5]), controlling for student sex and school-level free/reduced priced meal eligibility. RESULTS: There were 568 nonrandom lunch meal observations of students included in the analyses. Approximately 48% of the observations were from boys; 50% were from low-income schools, and were evenly divided by grade. In general, students in K-Gr1 consumed fewer calories than both Gr2-3 and Gr4-5, and Gr2-3 students consumed significantly fewer calories than Gr4-5. K-Gr1 students also consumed less and wasted more total and red-orange vegetables, total/whole/refined grains, and total protein foods than the older students. Gr2-3 students wasted more calories and total grains than Gr4-5 students. K-Gr1 students wasted more fruit than Gr2-3 students. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, younger students in elementary schools (K-Gr-1) consumed less of the foods they selected for their lunch meals, and wasted more than older elementary school students. Future studies should investigate why younger children wasted more food and potential strategies to reduce food waste by younger students.

Vitamin D intakes of children differ by race/ethnicity, sex, age, and income in the United States, 2007 to 2010.

The 2007-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was used to estimate vitamin D intakes of children 1 to 18 years old in the United States by race/ethnicity, sex, age, and family using 24-hour dietary intake recalls and dietary supplement use questionnaires. We hypothesized that total, dietary, and supplemental vitamin D intakes of children would differ by race/ethnicity, sex, age, and income. Statistical analyses of weighted data were performed using Statistical Analysis Software (V 9.2) to estimate means ± SE. Race and ethnic intake differences controlling for poverty income ratio (PIR), sex, and age were assessed by analysis of covariance. Total (dietary and supplement) vitamin D intake was greater in the high (7.9 ± 0.3 µg/d) vs the medium (6.5 ± 0.3 µg/d) income group, but not the low (7.2 ± 0.2 µg/d) PIR group. Total vitamin D intake of non-Hispanic (NH) white children (8.1 ± 0.2 µg/d) was greater than Hispanic (7.0 ± 0.2 µg/d) and NH black (5.9 ± 0.2 µg/d) children. Total vitamin D intake declined with age, and intake by boys was higher than girls. Only 17.4% of the children consumed supplements containing vitamin D. Overall, mean intake of vitamin D by all children in each age and ethnic group was lower than the estimated average requirement for vitamin D. Public health efforts should encourage consumption of foods high in vitamin D, expand the number of foods fortified, and target health messages to parents to increase use of vitamin D supplements by children.

Semiquantitative assessment of focal cartilage damage at 3T MRI: a comparative study of dual echo at steady state (DESS) and intermediate-weighted (IW) fat suppressed fast spin echo sequences.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to compare semiquantitative assessment of focal cartilage damage using the dual echo at steady state (DESS)- and intermediate-weighted (IW) fat suppressed (fs) sequences at 3T MRI. METHODS: Included were 201 subjects aged 35-65 with frequent knee pain. MRI was performed with the same sequence protocol as in the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI): sagittal IW fs, triplanar DESS and coronal IW sequences. Cartilage status was scored according to the WORMS system using all five sequences. A total of 243 focal defects were detected. In an additional consensus reading, the lesions were evaluated side-by-side using only the sagittal DESS and IW fs sequences. Lesion conspicuity was graded from 0 to 3, intrachondral signal changes adjacent to the defect were recorded and the sequence that depicted the lesion with larger diameter was noted. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, controlled for clustering by person, were used to examine differences between the sequences. RESULTS: 37 (17.5%) of the scorable lesions were located in the medial tibio-femoral (TF), 48 (22.7%) in the lateral TF and 126 (59.7%) in the patello-femoral compartment. 82.5% were superficial and 17.5% full-thickness defects. Conspicuity was superior for the IW sequence (p<0.001). The DESS sequence showed more associated intrachondral signal changes (p<0.001). In 103 (48.8%) cases, the IW fs sequence depicted the lesions as being larger (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The IW fs sequence detected more and larger focal cartilage defects than the DESS. More intrachondral signal changes were observed with the DESS.