College students are notorious for living on ramen noodles, frozen pizza, and suspiciously cheap alcohol. For many of us, the only meal we have that encompasses all the major food groups is when our parents visit and treat us to an obligatory dinner in a nice restaurant downtown. For students who don’t receive financial support from their families, a nutritious meal is even rarer.

“The closest I got to eating anything healthy this week was the lettuce on the Big-Mac I had for dinner last night,” said a Virginia Tech Senior studying Electrical Engineering.

The combined pressure of keeping up with school and the high cost of attending college forces many students to deprioritize maintaining a healthy diet. Although student loan payments are typically deferred until after graduation, alternative expenses associated with attending school such as paying rent and buying textbooks makes affording fresh, nourishing food a challenge. In addition to financial constraints, many students lack the necessary time to prepare food at home, resulting in the regular consumption of fast-food.

“I pay for everything myself, so I have to be careful about how I spend my money. I usually have a strict budget of less than 10 dollars per meal,” said the Virginia Tech senior regarding his regular Big-Mac dinner.

The Science Behind Food Insecurity Among College Students

Trisha Sterringer, registered dietician and Virginia Tech Human Nutrition, Food, and Exercise PHD student, says that food insecurity lies not only in lack of access to food in general, but lack of access to nutritional, healthy food.

“The first and foremost thing with food insecurity in terms of nutrition is it can influence diet quality, and so even if food is available, it might not be nutritious food. This can end up leading to issues with nutrient deficiencies or even obesity,” said Sterringer.

Consuming a well-rounded diet is especially important for college students, as diet quality directly impacts cognitive function.

“If you don’t have enough [nutrients], that can be a strain on the brain. Also, if you’re focused on where money is coming from or where food is coming from, this is an additional thing that can become a stressor.”

“Tough it Out”

The widespread acceptance of students’ low standard of living results in a lack of understanding and attention regarding food insecurity among college students.

“It’s normal not to eat a five-star meal every day in college. The struggle is just a part of being in college,” said the Electrical Engineering student when asked if he is content with his current dietary habits.

Assistant Director at the Community Foundation of the New River Valley, Lindsey Gleason says that this is a common perspective, and it is often imposed on students by previous generations who claim that because they didn’t have access to healthy food options in college, younger generations are not entitled to better. Gleason says that accepting the nutritionally lacking diet that most college students consume as normal is harmful and outdated.

“You don’t want students to just scrape by on oatmeal and mac and cheese in college, you want them to thrive,” said Gleason.

Resources for Virginia Tech Students

Explore the links below to learn more about how Virginia Tech students can fight food insecurity within our own lives and among our peers.

The Campus Kitchen – The Campus Kitchen is an organization founded between Virginia Tech Engage and Virginia Tech dining services that works to decrease food waste on campus and provide local food banks with resources.

The Market of Virginia Tech – The Market of Virginia Tech is a free food pantry that is open to all Virginia Tech students.

Blacksburg Interfaith Food Pantry – This is a food pantry that is open to qualifying residents of Blacksburg.

An Affordable, Healthy Instant Ramen Recipe

Ingredients:

• One packet of any kind of ramen
• ¼ cup frozen mixed vegetables
• One egg

Directions:

1. Cook ramen as directed on packet, but use only half of the seasoning pouch (Trisha Sterringer says that this makes it much healthier by cutting the sodium in half).
2. While ramen is cooking, add the frozen vegetables to the broth.
3. Fry the egg and slide it into the ramen when it is done cooking.
4. Enjoy!

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