Spin the Plate: Tuition or Dinner, The Reality of Food Insecurity of at the University of Arizona

Underneath academic struggles, students at the University of Arizona face a greater threat: high levels of food insecurity. Food insecurity refers to not having access to nutritious and culturally nourishing food. The University of Arizona has high levels of food insecurity because the Tucson campus is within a food desert. The nearest stable source of food, such as a grocery store, is 1.6 miles away from the center of campus, which is not accessible to all students.

Food insecurity is a national epidemic that can affect any person, especially on a college campus. Pursuing a higher education indicates that a student will encounter a tremendous amount of debt throughout their academic career. University students play Russian Roulette with their priorities: to earn their degree or to have dinner. The pressure placed on academics and scholarships deter the students’ attention from their physiological needs to their need for societal acceptance. Being anxious inhibits students from getting the resources they need. Additionally, the normalization of being food insecure is constantly reinforced because the university believes that food insecurity is an isolated event, only affecting a few students. College student accept that attending college means that they must be starving college students. This cannot continue to be the truth. Food insecurity cannot be treated solely as a stereotype.

Having sufficient financial aid can be a deterring factor in food insecurity. University students with a lower economic status are forced to financially provide for themselves and succeed in their academic goals. There is a strain placed on the student because they must manage their hours at work and at school, leaving healthy eating habits at the bottom of their priorities. Paying the utility bills becomes primary, and eating becomes secondary because the student is overworking themselves to meet the payments. If the student can save some money by skipping a few meals, then the student will refrain from eating and will resort to eating small snacks or drinking water as their meals. The combination of lack of nutrition and the overexertion of the college body overwhelms the student’s mental stability.

The lack of transportation limits the students to the campus. Through the inflation of regular grocery items, universities extort the lack of student mobility. Prices can be raised to six times the original price. Yet again, students are consistently being drained of their money. Although the University of Arizona provides a shuttle system to and from the grocery store, time management is an issue. Since the CatTran, the local shuttle, only travels at certain times, marginalized students are left with no access to food. The UA must accommodate to the students hours rather than their own and advertise that most departments have emergency food packages that are available to students. Outsourcing to other Tucson community resources would also greatly benefit the university students.

The University of Arizona must do better for the needs of the students. The UA must further advocate for their students during their formative years of education. Food insecurity on a college campus is not an issue of food allocation but an issue of social justice. All University of Arizona students deserve the opportunity to succeed and accomplish their academic success. To end the cyclical effects of food insecurity, conversations about marginalized groups that are severely affected must be addressed.

The communication theory used in the blog post are Laswell's model of communication, which is to inform, educate and guide. Laswell's model is effective because the audience becomes aware of the underlying causes that reinforce food insecurity. The second theory used in the blog post was the theory of theory of reasoned action because the blog calls out the University of Arizona and their lack of meeting the needs of their students. The University of Arizona has to reevaluate their stance on food insecurity to have a more active role in eliminating high levels of food insecurity on campus.

#foodinsecurity #healthlyeating