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Published on: September 18, 2018
Food Insecurity, MyPlate Recognition, and Meal Preparation Confidence Among College Food Pantry Users
1Department of Nutrition Sciences, School of Health Professions, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL; Department of Health Behavior, School of Public Health, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
Objective:
This study examined college students' food security status, Choose MyPlate familiarity, and confidence in preparing healthy meals using food pantry ingredients.
Methods:
A sample of 354 student users of a college food pantry in the US southeastern region were surveyed before using the food pantry for the first time.
Results:
Of the respondents, 81.3% were food insecure, and 47% of the overall sample experienced very low food security. About one-third (37.3%) recognized MyPlate; of those, 89.4% stated intention to use MyPlate knowledge making pantry selections. Students familiar with MyPlate (P = 0.003) and intending to use MyPlate when making food selections (P = 0.02) exhibited greater confidence. Differences were not observed on the basis of food security status.
Conclusions And Implications:
These findings suggest that familiarity with simple nutritional guidelines such as MyPlate may improve students' intended food pantry selections and healthy meal selection confidence.
