College student food insecurity and its relationship to fruit and vegetable intake and overweight/obesity at a HBCU

Abstract

The United States Department of Agriculture/Economic Research Service (USDA/ERS), defines food security as the access by all people, at all times, to a safe and adequate diet for an active and healthy life.1,2 Food insecurity has been found to be prevalent among AfricanAmerican communities due to low incomes, low levels of education, high rates of unemployment, and food deserts.1,2 Research has found that an estimated one in five (22.5%) African-American households is food insecure whereas, one in eleven (9%) of White households is deemed food insecure.3–6 An estimated one in four (26%) of AfricanAmerican children is living in a food-insecure household compared to one in eight (13%) white children.3–6