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Chloe Milliron

Joel Bergholtz

Composition II

1 November 2023

Food Insecurity and Reddit Communities

At this moment, a global crisis is occurring regarding access to food. In the

United States, around 50 million individuals are food insecure, which is when an

individual “lacks access to adequate food because of limited money or other resources”

(Gunderson and Ziliak). The subject of food insecurity is a topic that too often goes

unaddressed, which can have a rippling effect on other aspects of an individual’s health.

These health disparities are heightened when an individual has other aspects that

limit nutrition and food intake, such as diabetes, food allergies, food intolerances, or

other restrictions. Furthermore, college students who are food insecure can be unsure

of how to get assistance due to a lack of communication of resources from institutions,

which can affect the student’s academic performance.

In this paper, I examine multiple subreddits on Reddit in which most individuals

are supportive of those experiencing food insecurity, but there are those who are unable

to show compassion or empathize with others. For example, individuals who are unsure

about using resources available to address their food insecurity are many times faced

with condescending comments about the perceived embarrassment to use these

available resources. The conclusions from these subreddits are further supported by

various articles regarding food insecurity. This paper seeks to answer the following

research questions: how is the topic of food insecurity addressed and discussed on
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online communities such as Reddit? in which ways does food insecurity have an impact

on college students, specifically at the University of Central Florida?

2. Methods

I used the Reddit platform for this paper and reviewed the comments of various

subreddits regarding college students experiencing food insecurity. The first search on

Reddit I initiated was “food insecurity college,” which provided me with two different

subreddits. The first is a subreddit called r/college with a post titled “Food insecurity.”

Another is the subreddit called r/science with a post titled “Researchers estimate up to

40% of college students face food insecurity in Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and

Dietetics paper. They define food insecurity as the inability to purchase adequate,

nutritious food.” Both of these communities have a large number of members with

r/college having 1.5 million members and r/science having 30.9 million members. The

second search on Reddit I placed was “knights pantry,” which provided me with one

specific subreddit. It was the subreddit called r/ucf with a post titled “Does anyone

actually use knights pantry?” Both of the searches I used provided specific subreddits

and posts that will allow me to determine how individuals in college face being food

insecure, specifically at the University of Central Florida.

3. Results

The results from reviewing the three subreddits above will be broken down in this

section. Each of the three subreddits will be discussed in the three sections below with

those being i.) Introduction to Food Insecurity ii.) Rippling Effects of Food Insecurity and

iii.) Food Insecurity at UCF.

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3.1 Introduction to Food Insecurity

The initial post on this subreddit was, “Hi guys, just wondering if you’ve ever felt

food insecure as a college student? And how did you manage this situation?” This post

gives some initial insight on college students experiencing food insecurity. Here are

three comments that have similar themes seen throughout the subreddit.

1. 20%+ of college students are food insecure. Many schools have dining hall

swipe-sharing and other programs to help. I’d recommend checking in with your

office of student life/student affairs. I’ll bet there may be some options for you.

2. I would suggest looking at food pantry. The college I went to had resources for

food insecure people. Free food pantries for students, sometimes offering

breakfast, etc. Forgot to add: r/budgetfoods r/mealprep.

3. What does food insecure mean? Like felt bad about eating a lot? Not eating

enough of what is offered? Not utilizing facilities? I don’t understand.

These comments offer various perspectives on college students being food

insecure. The first two comments both seem sincere and the commenters are doing

their best to provide the initial commenter with helpful information. The first commenter

provides statistics that could help in making the initial commenter feel as though they

are not alone in their struggles. Furthermore, the second commenter provides additional

subreddits the initial commenter could look into for assistance. Both of these

suggestions are valid. In fact, U.S. News & World Report stated, “Food pantries and

meal swipe donations are some of the ways colleges are confronting food insecurity on

campus” (Wood). The third commenter offers a different perspective, but one that is

quite common. This third comment is straightforward in asking what it means to be food
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insecure, which prompts further discourse. The comments that stemmed from this third

comment are below.

4. It means when people can’t afford food & don’t have enough to get 3 meals.

5. Food insecure is defined as, “the lack of consistent access to enough food for an

active, healthy life.” (USDA). Lots of jargon that basically means there’s a feeling

of not being sure of where your next meal might come. It can also mean, not

being sure if you’ll have enough food in one week’s time (as an example). There

might be facilities or stores, but perhaps you don’t have enough money to

purchase food, or perhaps the facilities are far away.

Both of these comments help in educating individuals on food insecurity, which is a

subject many individuals are uneducated on. One significant piece of information that is

important when explaining food insecurity to an individual is that there are different

levels of food insecurity (“Hunger and Food Insecurity”). An individual can experience

mild, moderate, or severe food insecurity. If an individual is experiencing severe food

insecurity, “they have run out of food and gone a day or more without eating,” while

an individual experiencing moderate food insecurity means their “access to food

is uncertain” (“Hunger and Food Insecurity”). Furthermore, an individual with mild food

insecurity is just unsure where they will get their food some of the time. Overall, most

individuals provided helpful suggestions on this subreddit.

3.2 Rippling Effects of Food Insecurity

This subreddit had more than 600 responses allowing for individuals to describe

their personal experiences with being food insecure and how this affects their

academics. Here are three comments in which each is a response to the other.
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1. Crazy how it’s a trope for college students to eat top ramen. That stuff has no

nutritional value on its own and expecting students to live off of something that is

harmful to consume as a staple food is insane.

2. And yet we’re expected to thrive in college and maintain a high GPA while

providing hardly any nutritional value to support our brain function and complete

wellbeing. It’s ridiculous.

3. I tried so hard to get some of my schoolmates to eat anything besides ramen and

fast food. They always claimed they couldn’t afford anything else, but my food

budget was usually about half theirs. I can only imagine what Asian folks think

when they hear about Americans eating the cheapest noodles with just the

flavoring packet and no protein or veggies. Not that that negates the food

insecurity, but we seriously gotta teach our kids to eat better in this day and age.

The second comment was responding to the first comment and the third comment

was responding to the second comment. All three of these individuals are agreeing on

the difficulties, especially regarding consuming food that has nutritional value to it, as a

college student. The second comment mentions the expectation that students are

expected to maintain a high GPA all while struggling to find food, especially with

nutritional value. It was found in one study that there are “significant differences in GPA,

with food insecure students having a 3.33 average and food secure students having a

3.51 average out of 4.0” (Brescia and Cuite). These individuals sharing their common

struggles on finding nutritious food with the restriction of being food insecurity leads into

another integral point. Imagine being food insecure, finding nutritious food, but not being

able to consume them due to diabetes, food allergies, food intolerances, or religious
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restrictions. The already existing challenge becomes even more challenging. As stated

in one article, “Food insecurity is associated with higher HbA1c…” (Berkowitz et al.).

Furthermore, the intersection of food insecurity and food allergies is not something that

has been well-explored even though “an estimated 32 million people have a food

allergy” (Ronayne). The third comment mentions budget, which as a college student

one’s budget is already tight. Once again, imagine having to purchase gluten-free food,

which is at an inflated price, while being a college student. Overall, the nutritional

challenges associated with food insecurity are heightened with other restrictions.

3.3 Food Insecurity at UCF

This subreddit focuses on how the University of Central Florida’s food pantry

called Knights Helping Knights Pantry is viewed by students and how it can aid

students. The individual who began this subreddit stated, “I do not have a job right now.

I paid off the rent for the rest of my lease with savings, but I am worried about splurging

the rest on food. I get extra grant money every semester, but for summer, it’s less, and I

do not know how long it will last me. As a full-time student with no job, I don’t qualify for

EBT. However, going to the pantry would be really embarrassing. Is it all that common

to go? Should I use my savings instead? I still have around 6000 left. I don’t want to

take from people who actually need it.” Here are some of the subreddit comments.

1. Hi there! I go to knights pantry all the time! There is nothing to be embarrassed

about. Take advantage of free resources. All you need to do is bring your student

ID and fill out a form on Qualtrics. I can go with you if you want.

2. I’ve grown up in Orlando and growing up me and my family donated everything

there. Now I’m 24 paying for school and rent working full time, and it’s been the
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best thing ever to me and helped me out more ways than one. Don’t ever over

think it, use it if you need it. They and the rest of us here are here to help you get

through everything.

Both responses above show unwavering support for the initial commenter. Both

commenters offer to accompany them to Knights Pantry to help them through this time.

In fact, both the comments align with the name of the pantry, Knights helping Knights.

From research conducted at UCF, it was determined that over 20,000 students at UCF

experience some level of food insecurity (Donley and Hall). This substantiates the fact

that this individual is not alone and has support from others experiencing the same

challenge. However, there are individuals that feed into the doubts of initial commenter.

3. ???? Tf is embarrassing about being a college student who wants free shit? The

pantry helped me so much when I literally had nothing in my bank account. They

give pots, pans, clothes, notebooks, pencils, etc etc. it is not embarrassing.

4. You really just say it’s embarrassing?

These individuals seem to mock the initial commenter for stating that they are

embarrassed to use the resources Knights Pantry offers. This is only feeding into the

idea that the use of this resource is seen as embarrassing. Instead of explaining that it

would not be embarrassing because the staff is welcoming, they instead act confused

as to why the individual might be embarrassed. Once again, most individuals are

supportive and have helpful suggestions for those experiencing food insecurity.
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4. Reflection

Individuals who are food insecure, especially college students, may struggle.

When food insecure individuals are struggling, they reach out to different communities

for help. After reviewing subreddits on Reddit, it is evident that other individuals and

peers step up to help those experiencing food insecurity. It is clear that most individuals

do their best to make meaningful suggestions, such as going to a food pantry or

reaching out to various departments for assistance. However, there are a select few

who impose feelings of embarrassment, shame, or guilt on those who are food insecure

and seeking help. Furthermore, I believe further research could be done on the

intersection of food allergies and food insecurity. Overall, most individuals who are food

insecure and face additional associated challenges find support in Reddit communities.
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Works Cited

Berkowitz, Seth A., et al. “Food Insecurity, Food ‘Deserts,’ and Glycemic Control in

Patients with Diabetes: A Longitudinal Analysis.”American Diabetes

Association, American Diabetes Association, 19 Mar. 2018, doi.org/10.2337/dc17-

1981.

Brescia, Stephanie A, and Cara L Cuite. “Underestimating College Student Food

Insecurity: Marginally Food Secure Students May Not Be Food Secure.”Nutrients,

U.S. National Library of Medicine, 29 July

2022, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9370637/#:~:text=One%20study

%20found%20significant%20differences,out%20of%204.0%20%5B22%5D.

Donley, Amy, and Brian T. Hall. Food Insecurity among UCF Students: Survey Results,

June 2022, stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=isbs.

Gundersen, Craig, and James P. Ziliak. “Food Insecurity and Health

Outcomes.”HealthAffairs, Nov.

2015, www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0645.

“Hunger and Food Insecurity.” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations, www.fao.org/hunger/en/. Accessed 17 Sept. 2023.

Ronayne, Kathleen. “Food Allergies Complicate Hungry Americans’ Search for

Meals.” AP News, AP News, 10 June 2021, apnews.com/article/food-allergies-

health-allergies-coronavirus-pandemic-8da1963de9355b4d375f9955265689bb.

Wood, Sarah. How Colleges Are Addressing Food Insecurity - U.S. News & World

Report, 16 Mar. 2022, www.usnews.com/education/articles/how-colleges-are-

addressing-food-insecurity.