Sarah Watson
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Food and housing expenses remain on the minds of many students at the University of Iowa, and one UI faculty member plans to research solutions to the issue.
UI Assistant Professor Katharine Broton received a grant over the summer to answer questions about the effectiveness of higher-education housing and food resources for students.
Broton and a team of researchers presented an overview of their ongoing project Sept. 26 at Association of Community College Trustees Leadership Congress in Las Vegas.
Broton and researchers from Temple University and the University of Houston are evaluating food and housing support for students in three U.S. cities, Boston, Houston, and Tacoma in a study that Broton said is the “first of its kind.” She leads the Boston site, where researchers are testing how meal vouchers affect students’ academic success and well-being.
“The goal is to determine if these interventions can improve college success and if they do, to share that information as broadly as possible so that other communities can better serve students,” Broton wrote in an email to The Daily Iowan.
The project is supported by a $550,000 grant from the Kresge Foundation, and $66,165 will go to the University of Iowa.
At the UI, the Food Pantry saw a dramatic increase in the number of clients it served entering its second year, Executive Director Carissa Bailey said.
In comparison to September 2016, the total pounds of food given increased by eightfold, from 206 pounds last year to 1,658.91 pounds this year.
“I think food insecurity is a very significant problem on our campus,” Bailey said. “One of the biggest barriers to accessing resources is recognizing you are food insecure because of the stigma of being food insecure.”
Although she said she thought a large part of the increase was due to increased publicity about the Food Pantry, she said food insecurity is still a big problem at the UI.
In a survey the Food Pantry did last year, 70 percent of the respondents said they had eaten less in order to save money on food within the last year, and 57.9 percent said they felt their diet negatively affected their academic performance.
To combat housing insecurity, UI Student Government City Council liaison Benjamin Nelson said one thing UISG has been advocating for the past couple years is an increase in off-campus housing.
Nelson said he’s advocated for the City Council to rezone Iowa City to pave the way for more high rises, allowing a higher density of students to live nearer to campus.
“We hear about students who definitely feel a stress on their wallet,” Nelson said. “Students live in Coralville or elsewhere not very close to campus just so they can go to school … For in-state students, specifically, housing is a biggest chunk of the pie when considering attendance.”
Broton said she hopes her research can alleviate problems such as these on campuses nationwide.
“Certainly, there are students all across the nation — including here in Iowa — who struggle to obtain adequate food and safe, secure housing,” Broton said in an email to the DI. “The lessons learned from these studies can inform higher education leaders across the nation.”
