On Feb. 23, researchers will distribute a campus-wide survey with the aim of studying the prevalence of food insecurity at the University of Saskatchewan.

The research is being conducted by Caitlin Olauson, a Master’s student in the department of community health and epidemiology, under the supervision of assistant professor Rachel Engler-Stringer. The study will target both undergraduate and graduate students.

“Our first step is to do a cross-sectional survey where we randomly sample 4,500 students,” said Olauson. “We need a good response in order for the study to actually reflect what we say it reflects.”

The survey will be distributed on PAWS and will include between 30 and 40 questions on a broad range of topics.

“We’re trying to hit a lot of different aspects, like if you were born in Canada, which year and program you’re in and what your living conditions are,” Olauson said.

Olauson believes hers is the first study conducted of food security at a Canadian university.

“There have been similar studies done in Australia and also the United States,” said Olauson. “They’ve been done for Saskatoon but not among students specifically.”

The study will be available for three weeks after Feb. 23. The next step for the project is to analyze the data collected and look for trends.

“After we collect the data we can get a sense of prevalence and then look for potential associations, for example, if some people are more vulnerable than other people,” Olauson said.

Ultimately, though, the goal of the project is to influence university policy across Canada.

“Down the line we want to look at how the university can better meet its students’ needs,” said Olauson. “We want to hopefully use this as a model for other universities who want to do similar things and, eventually, it will be Canada-wide and we’ll get a good picture of how the country is doing.”

Olauson said there is no exact definition for what food insecurity is, but that it generally involves “skipping meals or cutting back on the types of food you would prefer to buy because you can’t afford it.”

Besides money, some of the main barriers to food security are accessibility and culture.

“Maybe you can’t access [food] because nothing is close enough, or you don’t have a vehicle, or you’re unable to find culturally appropriate foods,” Olauson said. “It’s multi-dimensional, but finance is the main issue.”

According to Olauson, one potential solution to food insecurity is making sure students “understand everything that is currently available to them.”

Olauson said there are many food security initiatives around campus which go unnoticed because they lack an appropriate medium to propagate awareness, citing organizations like the U of S Food Centre and the Global Institute for Food Security.

“Engineers Without Borders has a food security department and I had no idea until one week ago,” said Olauson. “Part of the research is to look at what’s already being done and ask how we can make it one bigger, better system on campus.”

Olauson said this sort of research is especially important in Saskatchewan, where agriculture is the largest export.

“A lot of food is produced here,” Olauson said. “We have a responsibility to help our own communities.”

Saskatchewan exports more than $11 billion in agri-food products annually.

The research is being done in partnership with Student Health Services with support from the School of Public Health and a group of graduate student volunteers. Nationally, Olauson is working with faculty at Queen’s and Acadia universities, the University of Alberta and Meal Exchange, a national student-led anti-hunger organization.

Over the summer, Olauson and her team will analyze the results of the survey. She expects the results to be published in approximately one year.

“Right now we’re just trying to get the word out there about the survey and get people engaged and taking it even if they don’t feel like food security is an issue that directly affects their life,” Olauson said. “It’s good to hear from all students so we know what proportion of students are being affected.”

Olauson said she would be interested in continuing her research in this area after the project is completed.

“There’s definitely potential for future projects down the road, for example, implementing interventions and see how successful they are,” said Olauson. “There’s a lot that could come out of this.”

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Graphic: Stephanie Mah/Graphics Editor