Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Department

Psychology

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

College is a time when many students experience independence for the first time in their lives. This is the first time they have had to do their laundry on their own, keep their room clean, and maybe most importantly, they are responsible for figuring out where they are going to eat every day, for every meal. The focus of this study is on food accessibility struggles for college students, specifically looking at Western Kentucky University’s (WKU) food on-campus, as well as students with dietary restrictions.

Since college is the first-time students are responsible for their own meals, it can often be challenging, especially when those students have dietary restrictions that limit what they can eat. Students took a survey encompassing multiple aspects of food accessibility including demographics, food accessibility, and overall satisfaction. Major findings from this study indicated that most students do not have struggles when it comes to food accessibility, but people with dietary restrictions found that they had limited options regarding food and that they were not very satisfied in the options available on WKU’s campus. Based on the findings of this study, there are improvements that could be made upon food accessibility on WKU’s campus. Some of these improvements are better options to suit dietary needs, more cultural options, the healthiness of options and cost satisfaction of food on campus.

Advisor(s) or Committee Chair

Frederick Grieve, Ph.D.

Disciplines

Nutrition | Other Public Health | Psychology

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