Student loans need more room for food costs: study

Federal and provincial student loan programs need to allocate more money for the costs of basic nutrition, according to a new University of Alberta study.

"The allocation for food in student loans is insufficient," said Dr. Noreen Willows, a professor of nutritional science at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry, and Home Economics and lead author on the study, which is published in the spring 2006 issue of the Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research.

More money needs to be allocated by the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) and by the Alberta Student Loans Program (ASLP) to ensure students have enough to purchase a basic healthy menu, Willows said.

"Based on the study's findings, students reliant on financial assistance likely have insufficient money for a nutritionally adequate diet and are at risk for food insecurity – the limited or uncertain availability of good-quality food or being unable to obtain the food in socially acceptable ways," Willows said.

Based on allocations in 2003, the year the study was conducted, ASLP set aside $365 per month for the joint cost of food, clothing and personal care, while the CSLP allocated $196 for food each month. However, the study found that the actual menu cost for students living away from home was as high as $296 per month and often exceeded the amount allocated by the CSLP. Once money was budgeted for food, the ASLP funding allocation remaining for clothing and personal care item expenditure would be small.

The no-frills, seven-day menu developed for the U of A study was based on Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating, and included staples like bread, cereal, juice, fruit, soups, eggs, milk, fish and meat. The menu was priced for skilled and unskilled shoppers at a grocery store near to campus and a discount-style grocery store further away, which required a vehicle or access to public transit.

The unskilled shopper was assumed to purchase costlier national brand-name items, small sizes and fluid milk and juice. The skilled shopper was assumed to buy more economical generic foods, bulk sizes, frozen juice and powdered milk.

Menu cost varied by store location and by shopping skill level, but the results demonstrated that, even for skilled shoppers following an economical diet, more allowance was needed in student loans for food.

Willows suggests federal and provincial student loan programs need to provide at least 150 per cent more for food costs, and that the CLSP's current method of estimating food costs using a nutritious food basket underestimates the amount of money a student needs to support a healthy menu each month.

Based on 2003 figures from Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, the cost of a nutritious food basket for males was $186 and $136 for females aged 19 to 24 years, below the cost of the sample menu used in the study.

"The food basket measure may be an inadequate tool to inform loan policy," Willows said. The basic menu used in the study didn't take into consideration unhealthy but tempting foods like snacks or alcohol.

As well, the loan allocations for food don't cover margins for a student's level of knowledge about smart shopping, whether they have storage room for bulk food, and whether they have roommates who consume the food without contributing financially.