SNAP-Ed Programming for College Students Experiencing Food Insecurity: A Qualitative Process-Focused Evaluation

Abstract

Background: Growing recognition of food insecurity experienced by college students has led to efforts on college campuses to provide students with food assistance benefits and related nutrition education. A Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) program was developed for college students as one of these efforts.

Objective: To explore program content, recruitment, and implementation through experiences of program implementers in a novel SNAP-Ed intervention among college students.

Design: This qualitative study used focus groups and a case study approach to elicit program implementers' experiences delivering SNAP-Ed to college students.

Participants/setting: Students, staff, and faculty (n = 26) implementing SNAP-Ed with college students experiencing food insecurity across eight campuses in the California State University system participated in 8 focus groups in 2021-2022.

Main outcome measures: A process evaluation framework was used to evaluate content fit and orientation; recruitment, retention, and reach; and structure and capacity for implementation.

Analyses performed: Focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and coded via thematic analysis using NVivo (QSR International, Burlington, MA).

Results: Five themes were identified: (1) need for this work to extend college-based basic needs services; (2) importance of aligning programming with college student context/needs; (3) common factors important for attracting/engaging the audience; (4) program barriers; and (5) training/team sharing for extending ideas.

Conclusions: Study findings suggest tailoring SNAP-Ed programming to the needs of college students experiencing food insecurity, such as integrating student-relevant cooking skills, recipes, and topics of interest. Additional intervention and research efforts may lead to a new model for serving college students with SNAP-Ed.

Keywords: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; college students; food insecurity; nutrition education.