Food security and part-time work for students: do race and region play a role?

Abstract

Objective This study explored the relationship between weekly hours worked and food security among full-time college students in the United States, as well as the extent to which this relationship depends on racial identity and regional location. Participants/Methods We performed a secondary analysis of data from 1,450 full-time college students in the labor force who completed the 2019 Food Security Supplement to the Current Population Survey. Moderated multiple logistic regression was used to analyze the data. Results We found that among full-time college students in the labor force, working a greater number of hours per week was not related to one’s likelihood of being food insecure, with an exception for students who identified as Asian. Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of considering the intertwined nature of contributing factors to food security for specific groups of students.