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Conference Title and Sponsor
Scholarly and Creative Works Conference, Dominican University of California
Presentation Date
2020
Format
Mp4
Length of Recording
11:01 minutes
Description
Food insecurity among college students has become an issue among many universities nationwide. Campus food pantries emerged to combat this problem by providing students with a diverse selection of fresh foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein. However, there is uncertainty about whether students utilize all the food pantry items to create healthy meals at home. Most universities are in the pilot process of their food pantries and not many studies have been done to examine the use of healthy ingredients among students. The purpose of this study is to examine if an intervention using food pantry items would improve the overall health of college students and their eating habits. This study assesses the confidence and ability of students at Dominican University of California in San Rafael to utilize food pantry items and create healthy meals. Participants were given a pre- and post-intervention survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in improving awareness and knowledge of healthier eating habits and options, separated by five weeks. Participants were eligible if they visited the food pantry at least once between November 2019 and March 2020 and filled out both surveys.The intervention was recipe posters placed at the pantry for students to view. Recipes were based on ingredients given at the pantry and chosen based on the number of food pantry items included, difficulty, total preparation and cooking time. Recipes came from national organizations, such as Choose My Plate, Harvest of the Month, and CalFresh Champions for Change.