In this cross-sectional survey study with 1745 participants, 17% of graduate students and 13% of postdoctoral trainees experienced food insecurity during the academic year. Among graduate students, factors associated with food insecurity included belonging to a racial and ethnic minority group, receiving financial aid, and having housing instability; among postdoctoral trainees, these factors included receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, having housing instability, and not owning a car.
As a result, the 2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20) contains the first nationally representative data on food insecurity and homelessness among undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in postsecondary education in the United States. ….Overall, 23% of undergraduates, and 12% of graduate students, are experiencing food insecurity.