Impact of COVID-19 on Food Insecurity and Subsequent Consequences in Post-Secondary Students in the United States: A Systematic Review with Meta Analysis

Suwanee, GA

Introduction

Food insecurity is a prevalent problem in the United States that affects the livelihoods of many individuals and families. Food security is defined as “a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical and social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy lifestyle.” (Committee on World Food Security (CFS), 2012). The purpose of this systematic review is to compare food insecurity and its effects on mental health, physical health, and academics, prior to the start of the pandemic and after stay-at-home orders went into place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using this data, possible solutions and preventative measures can be taken to assist and further prevent increased numbers of food insecurity during another natural disaster or pandemic.

Methods

The inclusion criteria includes all studies done in the United states in the English language, subjects being post-secondary students or 18 and older, all genders, and specific dates for publication and data collection: Year of publication pre-covid: June 2009- February 4, 2022; Year of publication COVID: March 2020-February 4, 2022; Data for pre-COVID: June 2009-March 2020; Data for COVID: March 2020- February 4, 2022. The exclusion criteria are as follows: Populations in public schools K-12, Population in school districts K-12, Opinion reviews, systematic reviews, studies that do not have to do with food insecurity or food, and private postsecondary institutions. The database used was PubMed on February 2, 2022. Six items concerning risk of bias were assessed by using the methodology from the Cochrane handbook.

Results

Food insecurity increased by 2.6% during COVID. Overall women were seen to have a higher percentage of food insecurity before and during COVID-19. During the pandemic Caucasians still had the highest percentage of food insecurity (56.7%) but Hispanic students had the largest increase in food insecurity. Depression, anxiety, and stress all increased during the pandemic while general health declined. Academic performance improved as more students obtained A’s.

Discussion

Overall COVID-19 did have an impact on food insecurity in post-secondary students. Reasons for this include low availability, accessibility, and utilization. There are many tiers for potential interventions that start in the community and at the university level and extend to local and federal governments. The lack of research and small sample size are limitations to this review and effect the synthesis of data.