FEATURED PUBLICATION​

Experiences of food insecurity among undergraduate students:
"You can't starve
yourself through school"

Merryn Sanders Maynard, Samantha B. Meyer,
Christopher M. Perlman, Sharon I. Kirkpatrick

Read the full paper

Hear Merryn describe her research

Canadian post-secondary students are vulnerable to food insecurity, yet lack of examination of this issue has prevented identification of policy and program solutions. This mixed-methods study aimed to characterize the experience of food insecurity among undergraduate students by eliciting barriers to food security, strategies used to manage food and money shortages, and perceived implications for health and academic achievement. Surveys and in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 students who demonstrated compromised financial access to food. Students normalized experiences of food insecurity as typical of post-secondary education but expressed anxiety and frustration with financial inaccessibility to healthy food, and described negative implications for their physical and mental health and their ability to perform well in school. Ongoing attempts to adapt or adjust to food insecurity had limited success. Findings highlight the need to challenge the “starving student” ideology, which normalizes the lack of access to healthy food during higher education.

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Merryn Maynard
​BA MSc

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Research interests: Food insecurity, social determinants of health, health inequality, mental health, mixed methods

Current position: 
Social Impact and Research Specialist, Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security

Education:
MSc, Public Health and Health Systems, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo (2014-2016) (read Merryn's thesis)

BA, Social Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, McMaster University (2009-2013)

Select publications:
Peer-reviewed:

• Google Scholar

Reports and other publications:

• Kirkpatrick SI, Maynard M, Raffoul A, Stapleton J. Interventions to reduce sugar consumption: A scoping review of systematic reviews to identify gaps in the evidence. 2016. Report submitted to Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes and Health Canada, 2016.
  

Select presentations:

• Maynard M, Meyer S, Perlman C, Kirkpatrick S.  Experiences of food insecurity among undergraduate students at the University of Waterloo: Barriers, coping strategies, and perceived health and academic outcomes. PROOF: Advancing food insecurity research in Canada 2016.
  
• Maynard M, Perlman C, Kirkpatrick SI. Food insecurity and perceived anxiety among adolescents: An analysis of 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. Canadian Public Health Association Conference, 2016.
• Maynard M, Meyer S, Perlman C, Kirkpatrick S. Experiences of food insecurity among undergraduate students at the University of Waterloo: Barriers, coping strategies, and perceived health and academic outcomes. Canadian Association for Food Studies Preconference, 2016.
  
• Maynard M, Meyer S, Perlman C, Kirkpatrick S. Conducting research on student food insecurity. Meal Exchange National Student Food Summit, 2016.

Recognitions:

• 2016: Winner, 3-Minute Thesis Competition, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo​ (Watch Merryn's 3-Minute Thesis)
• 2015: Applied Health Sciences Graduate Experience Award, University of Waterloo    
• 2014: Applied Health Sciences Graduate Senate Scholarship, University of Waterloo

Professional Activities and Networks:

• Food Bank Promotions and Advocacy Executive, Federation of Students, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario. (June 2015-Aug. 2016)
• Hot & Spicy Sexual Health Promotion Team Leader, Health Services, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario. (Jan. 2016-April 2016)
•  Trick or Eat Coordinator, Federation of Students, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario. (Sept. 2015-Oct. 2015)
  

 

3-Minute Thesis: