Creating Healthy Options and Building Community: A Campus‐Based Intervention to Address Food Insecurity at the University of Georgia

ABSTRACT

This article showcases the Let All the Big Dawgs Eat Food Scholarship program, founded in 2014, to help address student hunger at the University of Georgia. Using an exploratory qualitative research method, we conducted interviews with 14 former recipients of the food scholarship to explore their experiences and perceptions of the benefits they received from this program. Authors identified four themes from interviews with food scholarship recipients: (1) alleviation of stress due to financial constraints; (2) opportunities to build community; (3) access to healthy choices and food options; and (4) food access as a strategy that influenced academic success. We discuss key findings, implications for similar basic needs programs, and lessons learned from the Let All the Big Dawgs Eat Food Scholarship program.