Eating Alone, Eating Together: An Investigation of the Barriers and Strategies Surrounding Food Acquisition at Princeton University

Abstract

This thesis intends to add to the growing body of research dedicated to studying the economic and environmental barriers affecting college students' access to food. Whereas previous studies have covered the topic of food insecurity at post-secondary institutions through providing student food insecurity rates determined by USDA modules, absent from these studies is the impact structural and social factors have on student’s access to food and experiences of eating. Therefore, through the use of an asset-based mapping research approach employed over the course of eighteen semi-structured interviews, this study aims to provide as full of a picture possible on the individual and collect experiences of food acquisition in the wake of being a college student. Subsequent findings reveal that student’s access to food and meals was negatively impacted along lines of difficulty accessing cultural foods, discrepancies in kitchen access, and academic constraints on time. Incorporating literature regarding social capital and commensality, in face of these barriers, students persistent exercise of resources and social engagement surrounding eating, in turn was found to facilitate nutritional and social-emotional wellbeing.