Differences in food insecurity among post-secondary students and non-students of similar age in Canada

Abstract

Food insecurity is defined as inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints. This study compares the risk of food insecurity among post-secondary students and similar-age young adults not attending school. This research comes at a time of frequent campus surveys reporting high rates of food insecurity among post-secondary students. However, this study offers a new perspective by using population-representative data instead, finding that non-students were more vulnerable to food insecurity than their student counterparts.