If you’ve ever been a student at Penn State you’ve heard about our meal plan. Perhaps you’ve watched the money slowly dwindle, heard the stories from your friends, or experienced the all too familiar rush to find a job as you realize that funding your appetite is much more demanding than initially expected. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that food is costly. People all across the world, those who are students and those who aren’t, similarly struggle to find the means to feed themselves. I know too, that the University makes certain food more affordable – An acai bowl is not typically $3.50. I invite you, however, to consider the implications of a student body, greatly at risk for struggling with their mental health, without sufficient funding to eat.

The Child Mind Institute estimates that 10-20% of undergraduate women and 4 to 10% of undergraduate men have eating disorders, with the number rising. It’s clear that this constitutes a grave issue. So, how does the underfunding of campus meal plans impact this.

Well, think about it. Have you ever fallen victim to the thought process that, “I may as well skip a meal, that way I’ll save some money”? I certainly have, and I’m sure I’m not alone. We all know the typical stereotype of the “broke college student”. We also, happen to know that the stereotype is, unfortunately, often true.

As I’ve previously discussed, the issue of mental illness among college students is likewise a grave and growing issue, that, I feel, the University fails to sufficiently address. Whats more, however, is its link to eating disorders. According to Center for Discovery; Eating Disorder Treatment, mental illnesses such as Anxiety, Depression, Substance abuse, Self-injury, Borderline personality disorder, and Obsessive-compulsive disorder are all commonly associated with eating disorders.

So, again, I ask you to piece this information together. Consider a melting pot of students, at increased risk for mental illness, with insufficient resources to address their struggles. Add in the correlated risk for eating disorders that comes with those illness, and pile on top the pre-existing struggle to afford food in the first place. If you’re asking me, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that that is the perfect storm for breeding unhealthy eating habits.

There’s many factors that can go into fueling these eating disorders that are also deeply ingrained in our University’s culture. Think about your portion sizes. How often do you turn to go to the dining hall and realize it’s closed? How affordable are the eateries downtown? What about the overarching culture — hearing friends comment on how much they’re eating, or how they look? These factors, too, can fuel unhealthy eating habits. For a person struggling with an eating disorder, any reason not to eat is a contributing factor. I implore you also to ask, what is the university doing about it?

Next time you swipe you PSU id to get a meal, think about the cost incurred. Think about the underlying ideologies associated with it. Think about how the system itself, here at our university is contributing to our eating habits. Think about the implications.

Resources

Jacobson, Rae. “College Students and Eating Disorders; Why the First Years Away from Home Are a Perfect Storm for Anorexia and Bulimia.” Edited by Allison Baker and Douglas W Bunnell, Child Mind Institute, Child Mind Institute, Inc., 2022, https://childmind.org/article/eating-disorders-and-college/.

Krane, Steph. “Penn State Lion Life.” PennState, The Pennsylvania State University, 6 Mar. 2018, https://sites.psu.edu/lionlife/2018/03/06/meal-points-and-lioncash-whats-the-difference/.

Mahoney, Ben. “Common Mental Health Disorders Associated with Eating Disorders.” Center for Discovery; Eating Disorder Treatment, Center For Discovery, 2023, https://centerfordiscovery.com/blog/common-mental-health-disorders-associated-eating-disorders/.

PennState Cancer Institute. “In-House Dining.” PennState Cancer Institute, Penn State Health, 2023, https://cancer.psu.edu/patient-care/patients-families-and-visitors/in-house-dining.