美國大學(xué)生窮的都吃不起飯了

There are plenty of stereotypes about college students and their food habits: They’re broke and only eat ramen; they party every night and only consume pizza and shitty beer. But a new study by Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab paints a more disturbing picture of college students’ relationship with food. According to the report, which was released in April, more than one-third of American students are food insecure, meaning they regularly have trouble accessing or affording nutritious food.

關(guān)于大學(xué)生的日常飲食習(xí)慣我們有很多的固有偏見：他們愛吃零食而且飲食不規(guī)律;他們每晚開 party，而且只吃披薩喝劣質(zhì)啤酒。但是一份來自 Temple 大學(xué)和 Wisconsin 希望實(shí)驗(yàn)室的調(diào)查描繪了一個(gè)更加讓人不安的現(xiàn)實(shí)。據(jù)這份 4 月份刊出的報(bào)告顯示，超過三分之一的美國學(xué)生飲食得不到保障，這就是說他們通常吃不到有營養(yǎng)的食物。

The researchers surveyed 43,000 students at schools across the country, asking them whether or not they identified with statements such as “I couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals” and “I worried about whether my food would run out before I got the money to buy more.” Based on the responses, the researchers determined that 36 percent of survey takers who attended four-year colleges were food insecure. At community colleges that figure was 42 percent.

調(diào)查人員調(diào)查了全國 43，000 名大學(xué)生，調(diào)查問題包括你認(rèn)同下面哪一種描述：“我吃不起營養(yǎng)均衡的食物。”和“我擔(dān)心在我拿到錢之前食物會(huì)被吃光。”基于他們的回答可以確定36% 的4年制大學(xué)受訪者都處于食物達(dá)不到保障的狀態(tài)，而在社區(qū)大學(xué)，這個(gè)數(shù)字是 42%。

More troublingly, the report suggests that students from low-income backgrounds, as well as those whose parents aren’t U.S. citizens, may be less likely to regularly eat healthy meals. Half of students who received Pell grants, a form of need-based financial aid, were deemed food insecure based on the survey results.

更糟糕的是，報(bào)告顯示來自低收入家庭的學(xué)生和父母不是美國公民的學(xué)生情況更艱難。而在接受佩爾助學(xué)金的學(xué)生中，有一半人都得不到飲食保障。

But despite overwhelming evidence that low-income college students often have trouble accessing nutritious food, some critics are claiming these results are negated by, uh, the freshman 15.

盡管低收入大學(xué)生確實(shí)很難吃的起有營養(yǎng)的食物，但還有一些評(píng)論家表示這個(gè)調(diào)查結(jié)果不可靠，理由呢.....是 freshman 15(調(diào)侃大學(xué)新生一入學(xué)就胖 15 磅的梗)

On Wednesday, USA Today opinion columnist James Bovard published an op-ed essentially refuting the premise of the survey — and arguing that college kids can’t possibly be undernourished, because they are statistically proven to be overweight. “Rather than being perpetually famished, 70 percent of college students gain weight during their undergrad years,” he wrote. By way of an explanation, Bovard pointed out that “few students are svelte when they arrive on campus,” citing an Obesity Research study suggesting that high school students are “30 times more likely to be overweight than underweight.”

周三，USA Today 的專欄作家 James Bovard 寫了一篇社論專門說這份調(diào)查有問題，還表示現(xiàn)在的大學(xué)生不可能營養(yǎng)不良，因?yàn)橛袛?shù)據(jù)顯示他們都超重了。“不僅僅是不可能挨餓，70% 的大學(xué)生在本科期間都長胖了，”他寫到。作為解釋，他指出“有的學(xué)生剛上大學(xué)的時(shí)候可瘦了，”他還引用一份肥胖研究會(huì)的調(diào)查，指出中學(xué)生“超重的可能性是體重過輕的 30 倍。”

No one is disputing that some students gain weight in college, or that a growing number of Americans are obese — but there’s no reason to assume that people who are overweight aren’t also severely malnourished. Though 14 percent of the students the Temple/HOPE study surveyed did report losing weight because they couldn’t afford to eat, a growing body of research, compiled here by the Food Research & Action Center, suggests a link between poverty, food insecurity, and obesity. One 2012 study found that people who skip meals to stretch their food budgets often gain weight because of their unbalanced diets. Another found that low-income people are disproportionately exposed to fast food, sugary drinks, and other food products that contribute to obesity.

大學(xué)生越來越胖或者說美國人越來越胖這一點(diǎn)無可爭議——但是還有一種可能：營養(yǎng)不良和超重同時(shí)存在。盡管有 14% 的受訪者因?yàn)槌圆黄饢|西變瘦了，由 Food Research & Action Center 編纂的一份研究表明，貧窮，營養(yǎng)不良和超重之間存在聯(lián)系。一份 2012 年的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，那些為了省錢少吃一頓飯的人因?yàn)轱嬍巢痪飧菀鬃兣帧Ａ硪环菡{(diào)查顯示低收入人群更愛快餐糖水等易胖的食物。

Angela Odoms-Young, an assistant professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago, summed up the problem in a blog post for Feeding America. “To maintain adequate energy intake, many families with limited resources select lower-quality diets, including high-calorie, energy-dense foods,” she wrote. Basically, when you’re working long hours for little pay — or struggling to get by as a college student — it’s easier and cheaper to eat pre-prepared food, or foods that are high in calories but low in necessary nutrients.

伊利諾伊州立大學(xué)的營養(yǎng)學(xué)助教 Angela Odoms-Young 在 Feeding America 里發(fā)表了一篇文章總結(jié)這個(gè)問題。“為了保證每日能量的獲取，許多收入有限的家庭都選擇了高卡路里高熱量的食物，”她寫到。根本上講，如果你從事長時(shí)間的廉價(jià)勞動(dòng)——或是一名大學(xué)生——你就更可能吃高卡路里低營養(yǎng)的廉價(jià)快餐。

But Bovard, who has previously dismissed the concept of food insecurity, seemed unimpressed with the survey’s findings that students who experience it “try to make ends meet in a variety of ways.” Instead, he suggested that students who can’t afford healthy food quit whining and get a job — even though about 70 percent of college students do work while attending school, according to a 2015 Georgetown University study. “Students spend far less time studying than their predecessors,” he quipped. “But expecting students to use free time to get a job to feed themselves is beyond the pale.”

不過前面那位否定存在營養(yǎng)不良的專家 Bovard 對(duì)“學(xué)生們?yōu)榱耸″X想盡辦法”的事實(shí)無動(dòng)于衷。相反，他建議學(xué)生們不應(yīng)該抱怨應(yīng)該去打工掙錢。——即便 70% 的大學(xué)生都在一邊工作一邊讀書。“現(xiàn)在的學(xué)生學(xué)習(xí)都沒咱們那會(huì)兒用功了，”他諷刺到，“但你讓他們?nèi)ゴ蚬赍X養(yǎng)活自己，他們還不愿意。”

As if that weren’t condescending enough, Bovard also claimed that students who receive financial aid have no reason to be food insecure, since they’re apparently rolling in money. “This study offers no clues on what happened to that largesse — or to the other $100 billion in federal assistance provided to college students in 2016,” he wrote.

這還不夠，Bovard 還說，接受拿助學(xué)金的學(xué)生不可能營養(yǎng)不良，他們手上有的是錢。“這個(gè)調(diào)查沒有涉及到學(xué)生助學(xué)金的使用情況，”他寫到。

In addition to being seemingly unaware of that the average college student has a job, it would seem Bovard might benefit from going to google.com and typing in “average college tuition cost,” which the College Board notes is $9,970, for in-state students attending public four-year universities during the 2017-18 school year. This price does not include the cost of books, transportation, housing, or food. Meanwhile, the maximum Pell grant awarded during that school year was $5,920, though most students received less.

除開無視大部分學(xué)生都打工這個(gè)事實(shí)，Bovard 還專門去谷歌查了一下“大學(xué)生平均學(xué)費(fèi)”，據(jù) College Board 提供的資料，2017-2018 學(xué)年，公立四年制大學(xué)針對(duì)本州學(xué)生的學(xué)費(fèi)是 9970 美金。但是這個(gè)價(jià)格是不包含課本費(fèi)和交通住房飲食的。同時(shí)，佩爾助學(xué)金 最多獎(jiǎng) 5920 美金，大部分學(xué)生還拿不到這么多。

Although some universities have meal plans, not all students can afford them. And campus dining halls aren’t open year-round; 40 percent of students withmeal plans at two-year colleges were deemed food insecure, the Temple/HOPE study found, as were 26 percent of meal plan-having students at four-year colleges.

盡管大部分學(xué)校都有學(xué)生餐，但大部分學(xué)生是吃不起的。而且食堂也不是全年都開;在兩年制大學(xué)吃學(xué)生餐的學(xué)生，有 40% 都營養(yǎng)不良，這個(gè)數(shù)字在四年制大學(xué)中是 26%。

Bovard’s solution? That colleges should “offer low-cost meal plans in lieu of the five-star buffets they already serve,” in order to curb the nationwide food insecurity crisis he claimed doesn’t exist. Offering lower-cost (or free) meal plans to low-income students is a great idea, but it does nothing to stave off hunger during spring, summer, and winter breaks, when the dining halls are closed. In other words, it doesn’t solve the larger problem: that students don’t have access to affordable, high-quality food year-round.

Bovard 有什么解決辦法呢?他說，大學(xué)應(yīng)該“提供低價(jià)學(xué)生餐代替他們之前提供的五星級(jí)自助餐，”以解決在他看來根本不存在的營養(yǎng)不良問題。提供廉價(jià)(或免費(fèi))學(xué)生餐是個(gè)好主意，但是根本解決不了春假，暑假，寒假期間的伙食問題，這些時(shí)間段食堂鐵定不開門。換句話說，這沒法解決最嚴(yán)重的問題:學(xué)生沒辦法一年四季都吃上廉價(jià)高質(zhì)量的飯菜。

Universities are accepting more low-income and first generation students than ever, even as tuitions climb steadily. If students are to secure access to healthy, affordable food year-round, then schools — and not the people who attend them — are going to have to find a way to make that possible, whether it be by increasing financial aid, establishing campus food pantries, or simply offering students guidance on which federal assistance programs they may be eligible for. The bootstraps-style contrarianism exhibited by Bovard and others does nothing more than dismiss the challenges low-income students’ face under the guise of promoting personal responsibility.

現(xiàn)在的大學(xué)接受的低收入群體和第一代移民越來越多，學(xué)費(fèi)也在不斷增長。如果學(xué)生能吃得上健康廉價(jià)的飯菜，學(xué)校能夠找到可行的辦法，問題才能改善。像 Bovard 等人的打著自己為自己負(fù)責(zé)無視問題存在的言論對(duì)解決問題毫無幫助。