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Food assistance programs are crucial for addressing student food insecurity, yet the utilization of these services is marked by intricate dynamics of stigma and related contributing factors. This study aims to uncover the underlying reasons behind stigma, exploring potential strategies to foster empathy and resilience among students on food assistance. A search was conducted on Google Scholar, SocIndex, PsycINFO, and PubMed in December 2023. The article needed to be peer-reviewed, published in English after the year 2000, and include all levels of students and any experiences with the use of food assistance-related experiences, especially stigma. Two authors conducted data extraction and synthesis independently to minimize bias and maximize rigor, the third researcher aided reconciliation when needed. Fourteen studies were included in this review and thematic analysis was used to identify stigma-related factors and suggestions proposed. The predominant emotions linked to students utilizing food assistance were frequently expressed and exhibited as embarrassment, shame, and a fear of social isolation. Another significant contributor to the stigma when using food assistance was the perception that others (student or non-student individuals) were more deserving or in greater need. A few studies pointed to misinformation and a lack of information about these resources exacerbating stigma-associated factors. This review highlights these issues and shares recommendations for mitigating stigma with efforts to enhance education and awareness, foster empathy, and privacy to reduce the feeling of being judged, and garner societal support. To improve the effectiveness and proper utilization of food assistance among the population that needs it most, such as college students, collaborative efforts between university administration and policymakers are essential to developing sustainable solutions and program strategies to reduce stigma and promote inclusivity. Ongoing research should address the systemic barriers preventing students from using food assistance programs. None [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campus food pantries act as emergency food assistance for students who are struggling to get food. There is limited data available to describe college students' awareness of existing food pantries and their usage for food acquisition and its benefit among international students who rely on the use of this service. To get a broader understanding using a case study with doctoral students from Latin-America, of the importance of the food pantry as a food resource facility on campus, drivers, and barriers to using this resource, and propose solutions to enhance the service quality. The case study was approached from an interpretive paradigm consistent with an ontological domain. Semi-structured interviews were conducted during fall-2022. To maintain research quality, this study follows qualitative best practices (Big-Tent). Twelve Ph.D. students from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El-Salvador, Mexico, and Panama, were sampled using homogeneous sampling technique. For purposes of a case study, the interviews with Latin participants from master's programs (n=5) were excluded. Interviews were transcribed verbatim. Data saturation occurred when no new themes emerged among all participants. A two-cycle coding was conducted: elemental technique (first phase), and cumulative coding technique (second phase). Seven themes emerged in this research, four surrounding the food pantry service: 1) limited finances as a motivator to use the service; 2) churches as a complement to food assistance; 3) transportation and, 4) misinformation of the service existence as a barrier; and three as proposing solutions to enhance the service quality: 1) effective communication; 2) mentorship program and, 3) strengthen partnerships with key food stores and founding donors. The experiences of the participants using the campus pantry revealed a key facilitator of food access in the search for nourishment on campus. However, there is a need to further increase the promotion of this resource as well as build a coalition of food access support within the university environment to develop inclusive programs for international graduate students. LSU AgCenter Diversity mini-grant [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College and university students in the United States (U.S.) experience a higher level of food insecurity than the national average. However, food insecurity among international students has not been studied enough, which is a gap as these groups may experience heightened barriers to accessing enough nutritious and culturally appropriate foods and are not eligible for government aid. The study aimed to investigate food insecurity, obstacles, and solutions related to food resources among international students during the COVID-19 pandemic. An mixed explanatory methods research design was used. An online Qualtrics 30-item survey, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Six-Item Short Form Food Security Module and sociodemographic questions (eg, age, race, ethnicity, living status), was developed to assess the food security status of the students. Food security status was asked during the COVID-19 (March 2020- March 2021) and present status when taking the survey (July 2021- July 2022). Convenience sampling was used to distribute surveys through social media, flyers, and student organization campaigns. Follow-up semi-structured interviews were conducted with interested participants to investigate experiences with food insecurity barriers and possible solutions. Inferential statistics and inductive coding were utilized to analyze the collected data. One hundred and fifty international students (47 % male and 53% female) completed the survey, and 30 participated in a follow-up interview. About 68% of participants were found to be food insecure during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was reduced to 61%. Significant obstacles to achieving food security mentioned in the semi-structured interview were related to food facilities on campus, such as Food pantry, individual factors such as lack of knowledge, and social barriers, including stigma. Suggested solutions included increasing the availability and variety of culturally appropriate foods. The majority of international students viewed on-campus food resources as a significant source of assistance during and after COVID. These findings highlight the need for collaborative efforts by universities and policymakers to tackle food insecurity among international students. LSU Agcenter [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the growing involvement of academic institutions and researchers in translational research to address complex biomedical and societal problems, driven by the NIH and other funders. Topics include the formation of interdisciplinary research teams to blend diverse scientific perspectives, the benefits and challenges of team-science, and the impact of team-science on the career advancement of early-stage researchers.

Most research on food insecurity (FI) among college students focuses on inadequate access to affordable, nutritious food on campus. High rates of campus FI (up to 82%) indicate that students struggle to acquire food, maintain well-being, and manage their finances. During college, many students rely on jobs to cover basic living expenses, including food; shortfalls can compromise food access, necessitating coping strategies (CS) that suppress healthy eating patterns. To systematically assess the prevalence of very low food security (VLFS) and unemployment status among college students, and document intrapersonal CS used for food acquisition. The protocol was prepared following the PRISMA guidelines. Four databases and grey literature were used to identify articles using FI or food-seeking CS as primary or secondary outcomes among students at 4-year universities. The search strategy utilized subject headings, truncation, and phrase-searching on titles and abstracts of articles published in the US. A two-stage screening process was used during which 25 of 272 articles met the inclusion criteria. Data was extracted into Excel and key findings were thematically analyzed. The majority of studies reported an average of 20% VLFS prevalence among college students, with rates ranging from 3.7% to 32% and unemployment averaging 40.76%, ranging from 12.1% to 80.3%. Intrapersonal CS fell into one of five categories: food management, food acquisition strategies, hunger distraction methods, attending free food events, and budget management for stretching food dollars. VLFS is accompanied by skipping or sacrificing meals, and employment status plays a crucial role in food access. The co-occurrence of unemployment and VLFS among college students, increases the use of multiple intrapersonal CS for acquiring and/or managing food. This study underscores the complexity of VLFS among college students, and the need for targeted interventions that address challenges related to food acquisition and management during this time. None [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To identify and tailor implementation strategies (methods or techniques to move research to practice) to support Louisiana Cooperative Extension Services (LCES) Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) practitioners' delivery of rural healthy eating and active living policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes. LCES is charged with bridging innovations to communities. The prioritization of complex healthy eating and active living PSE changes has the potential to remove upstream barriers for rural Louisianans to meet public health guidelines; however, FCS practitioners have historically focused on direct education. Implementation strategies tailored to LCES FCS could help overcome challenges to PSE change delivery and support scaling. A formative assessment was used to: identify barriers and facilitators to FCS practitioners' delivery of PSE changes; and select and tailor implementation strategies to support FCS practitioners. First, focus group discussions following the updated Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) were conducted at 2022 LCES FCS regional trainings. The CFIR is an implementation science determinant framework with multi-level constructs to represent the LCES organization, rural communities, healthy eating and active living PSE changes, and implementation actors/partners. FCS practitioners (n = 40) described more barriers (n = 1,002) than facilitators (n = 399); barriers were often related to LCES communication channels, consistent access to information, and organizational culture, as well as rural community partnerships/context. Results were matched to implementation strategies in the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) compilation and grouped following five classes established by Leeman et al., which resulted in 12 implementation strategies. Second, a survey was created to understand the relative importance of the identified implementation strategies. Distribution is occurring at 2023 LCES FCS regional trainings with an option for follow-up interviews to explore how the most important implementation strategies should be tailored. This research-to-practice partnership approach could serve as a model for national CES regarding systematically identifying and tailoring implementation strategies to improve the likelihood healthy eating and active living PSE changes are delivered, sustained, and scaled. 2022-69015-36869 This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]