COVID-19 triggered widespread disruption in the lives of university students across the United States . We conducted 9 online focus groups with 30 students from a large public university to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the food choices of those displaced from their typical residences due to the pandemic . To the authors' knowledge, this is the first qualitative research to examine the changes in food choice for US university students due to COVID-19 and offer insight into why these changes occurred . Students in this study reported significant, and often negative, changes in food choices during the pandemic compared to when on campus . Many students described changes in the foods they ate, the amount consumed, and increased snacking behaviors . We found food availability and household roles to be powerful factors influencing food choices . Most students had returned to family homes with many students taking a passive role in activities that shape food choices . Parents usually purchased groceries and prepared meals with students eating foods made available to them . Increased free time contributed to boredom and snacking for some students, while for a few students with increased skills and/or agency, additional free time was used to plan and prepare meals . About a third of the students attributed eating different foods at home to food availability issues related to the pandemic such as groceries being out of stock, purchasing non-perishable foods, or the inability to get to a store . This information may be helpful to researchers and health promotion professionals interested in the effects of COVID-19 on student nutrition and related food behaviors, including those interested in the relationship between context and food choice.