Public Health Nutrition: 12(11), 2097–2103 doi:10.1017/S1368980009990735 Food insecurity prevalence among college students at the University of Hawai’i at Ma ¯noa M Pia Chaparro 1, *, Sahar S Zaghloul 2,3 , Peter Holck 4 and Joannie Dobbs 3 1 Department of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, PO Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, USA: 2 Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Biotechnology Department, Safat, Kuwait: 3 Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, University of Hawai’i at Ma ¯noa, Honolulu, HI, USA: 4 Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Hawai’i at Ma ¯noa, Honolulu, HI, USA Submitted 2 May 2008: Accepted 29 May 2009: First published online 4 August 2009 Abstract Objectives: To assess the prevalence and identify possible predictors of food insecurity among college students at the University of Hawai’i at Ma ¯noa. Design: Cross-sectional survey, including the US Department of Agriculture’s Household Food Security Survey Module, demographic and spending variables. Setting: University of Hawai’i at Ma ¯noa, Honolulu, Hawai’i (USA). Subjects: Four hundred and forty-one non-freshmen students from thirty-one randomly selected classes. Results: Twenty-one per cent of students surveyed were food-insecure, while 24 % were at risk of food insecurity. Students at higher risk of food insecurity included those who reported living on campus and those living off-campus with room mates. Those identifying themselves as Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, Filipinos and mixed were also at increased risk of food insecurity. Conclusions: Food insecurity is a significant problem among college students at the University of Hawai’i at Ma ¯noa. Food availability and accessibility should be increased for these students through the establishment of on-campus food banks and student gardens. Future studies should assess the prevalence of food inse- curity in other college campuses nationwide. Keywords Food insecurity College students Hawai’i Food insecurity ‘exists when there is limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or lim- ited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways’ (1) . Food insecurity, under this definition, is a condition resulting from financial resource constraints, including geographical differences in the cost of food and housing (2) . There are other factors that can also impact food insecurity status; for example, a lack of skills in managing money and food (e.g. preparing budgets, mana- ging bills, stretching groceries at the end of the month) (3) . In 2006, 12?6 million US households (10?9% of all households surveyed) were found to be food-insecure (4) . In Hawai’i, the prevalence of food insecurity was sub- stantially lower, with 7?8 % of all Hawai’i households estimated to be food insecure in 2004–6 (4) . Similar to national findings (4) , data collected in Hawai’i indicate that a higher prevalence of food insecurity occurred in households with children and in households with lower income relative to the poverty line (5) . Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders were at highest risk of food insecurity, followed by Filipinos (5) . The islands of Molokai, Lanai and Maui had the highest levels of food insecurity, while Oahu had the lowest. However, all islands had high levels of food insecurity in certain geographical areas (5) . Results from multiple studies indicate that food inse- curity may have a negative impact on academic outcomes among children of various age groups (6–10) . Food inse- curity, hunger or food insufficiency were associated with behavioural and attention problems (6) , absenteeism and tardiness (6) , psychosocial dysfunction (6,7) , low maths (8,9) and reading scores (10) , grade repetition (8) and being sus- pended from school (8) in several different samples of children and adolescents across the USA. Studies analys- ing the association between food insecurity and poor academic performance, to our knowledge, have never been conducted among college students. In fact, there is very limited information on the extent, determinants or consequences of food insecurity in college populations. Given the potential correlation between reduced scho- lastic achievement and food insecurity, it is important to investigate how prevalent food insecurity is among col- lege students. It is also important to determine which students, if any, are at increased risk of suffering from food insecurity. *Corresponding author: Email mchaparro@ucla.edu r The Authors 2009 https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980009990735 Published online by Cambridge University Press