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> In the US, food insecurity has become an epidemic on college campuses. Difficult to the article seriously when reading this. (And I did follow the link to re

by JackFr 5y ago

> In the US, food insecurity has become an epidemic on college campuses. Difficult to the article seriously when reading this. (And I did follow the link to read the academic paper referenced. Though I am not in the field, I thought it was terrible. By defining food insecurity down and needlessly conflating categories it attempts to make a real problem seem worse than it is by viewing it through an ill conceived lens.)

xhkkffbf 5y ago
Agreed. And college campuses aren't exactly the most Uber-like place. While they experiment with online courses and some are really embracing them, the dominant vision is a pay-one-price, all-you-can-eat model. The colleges themselves bear plenty of similarities to the communist model thanks to need-based financial aid. So the fact that kids are food insecure on college campuses suggests that it's not a problem with Uberization or the economic model.
ac29 5y ago
Yes, odd article. They define "Low food security" as "reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet". Which sounds like a typical college meal plan to me: not particularly interesting or high quality. Calling it an "epidemic" seems to be implying something much worse.
gamblor956 5y ago
Yeah, comments like this are why so many people have turned against techies. A) There are plenty of students in the goldilocks zone of being from families to poor to afford a meal plan but too wealthy to qualify for free meals from their college. Some of these students are able to qualify for academic scholarships out of high school. The rest take on multiple jobs, including work-study, so that they can afford tuition and board. B) When college campuses shut down for COVID, many shut down their food halls as well, which affected those students poor enough to qualify for subsidized meals. Not everybody lives your life. Food insecurity is a real thing for thousands of college students.
- musicale 5y ago
  > A) ... There are plenty of students in the goldilocks zone of being from families to poor to afford a meal plan but too wealthy to qualify for free meals from their college As I understand it, public and private 4-year universities in the US usually include meal plans in the financial aid package. Colleges may even force students to purchase (expensive) meal plans to make them profitable. You may get stuck with oppressive student loans and mediocre, overpriced food, but you shouldn't starve. You're not entirely wrong about COVID though - it disrupted food services and made it harder for students to get meals. You see students with meal plans resorting to food hoarding and even theft, which they rationalize based on the cost of the meal plan and lack of access.

by JackFr 5y ago

xhkkffbf 5y ago

Agreed. And college campuses aren't exactly the most Uber-like place. While they experiment with online courses and some are really embracing them, the dominant vision is a pay-one-price, all-you-can-eat model. The colleges themselves bear plenty of similarities to the communist model thanks to need-based financial aid. So the fact that kids are food insecure on college campuses suggests that it's not a problem with Uberization or the economic model.

ac29 5y ago

Yes, odd article. They define "Low food security" as "reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet". Which sounds like a typical college meal plan to me: not particularly interesting or high quality. Calling it an "epidemic" seems to be implying something much worse.

gamblor956 5y ago

Yeah, comments like this are why so many people have turned against techies. A) There are plenty of students in the goldilocks zone of being from families to poor to afford a meal plan but too wealthy to qualify for free meals from their college. Some of these students are able to qualify for academic scholarships out of high school. The rest take on multiple jobs, including work-study, so that they can afford tuition and board. B) When college campuses shut down for COVID, many shut down their food halls as well, which affected those students poor enough to qualify for subsidized meals. Not everybody lives your life. Food insecurity is a real thing for thousands of college students.

musicale 5y ago
> A) ... There are plenty of students in the goldilocks zone of being from families to poor to afford a meal plan but too wealthy to qualify for free meals from their college As I understand it, public and private 4-year universities in the US usually include meal plans in the financial aid package. Colleges may even force students to purchase (expensive) meal plans to make them profitable. You may get stuck with oppressive student loans and mediocre, overpriced food, but you shouldn't starve. You're not entirely wrong about COVID though - it disrupted food services and made it harder for students to get meals. You see students with meal plans resorting to food hoarding and even theft, which they rationalize based on the cost of the meal plan and lack of access.