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Convivial Cooking: Impacts of an Educational Intervention on College Students' Food Agency

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Title: Convivial Cooking: Impacts of an Educational Intervention on College Students' Food Agency
Language: English
Authors: Qingbin Wang, Natasha Baranow, Jane Kolodinsky (ORCID 0000-0001-7322-0889), Amy Trubek, Weiwei Wang
Source: Journal of American College Health. 2024 72(8):2652-2660.
Availability: Taylor & Francis. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 9
Publication Date: 2024
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Instructional Materials, College Students, Food, Personal Autonomy, Food Service, Nutrition, Cooking Instruction, Student Attitudes, Eating Habits, Home Programs, Friendship, Sharing Behavior, Intervention, Undergraduate Students, Universities, Partnerships in Education, Religious Organizations
DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2022.2122721
ISSN: 0744-8481
1940-3208
Abstract: Objective: This research examines the effects of educational materials, delivered with "take-home and cook-with-friends" meal kits, on college students' food agency. Participants: In the spring of 2021, 186 students were recruited at a US public university and randomly allocated into either an intervention group that received meal kits and educational materials or a control group that received only meal kits. Methods: Meal kits containing local ingredients were distributed weekly to the participants and surveys were conducted to measure participants' food agency, using the "Cooking and Food Provisioning Action Scale" (CAFPAS). Hypothesis tests and regression analysis were then conducted to examine the educational intervention's effects on the CAFPAS scores. Results: The educational intervention had a positive and statistically significant effect on students' CAFPAS scores. Conclusions: Educational interventions hold promise in enhancing college students' food agency, at least in the short term.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2024
Accession Number: EJ1448395
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0180828338;acl01nov.24;2024Nov14.03:52;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0180828338-1">Convivial cooking: Impacts of an educational intervention on college students' food agency </title> <p>Objective: This research examines the effects of educational materials, delivered with "take-home and cook-with-friends" meal kits, on college students' food agency. Participants: In the spring of 2021, 186 students were recruited at a US public university and randomly allocated into either an intervention group that received meal kits and educational materials or a control group that received only meal kits. Methods: Meal kits containing local ingredients were distributed weekly to the participants and surveys were conducted to measure participants' food agency, using the Cooking and Food Provisioning Action Scale (CAFPAS). Hypothesis tests and regression analysis were then conducted to examine the educational intervention's effects on the CAFPAS scores. Results: The educational intervention had a positive and statistically significant effect on students' CAFPAS scores. Conclusions: Educational interventions hold promise in enhancing college students' food agency, at least in the short term.</p> <p>Keywords: College students; control and intervention groups; educational intervention; food agency; meal kits</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-2">Introduction and background</hd> <p>Cooking at home with whole, fresh ingredients—a practice often overlooked for its role and value in everyday life—is key to improved public health, environmental sustainability, and enduring cultural traditions. Over the past several decades, however, researchers have documented a substantial decline in meal preparation within American households,[[<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref1">1</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref2">3</reflink>]] while ready-to-eat foods and what some have called "ultra-processed foods" constitute an ever-growing share of the average person's diet.[<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref3">5</reflink>] Due to their busy schedules and proximity to on-campus food services, American college students represent a demographic group that faces substantial barriers to purchasing fresh ingredients and accessing kitchen facilities, while simultaneously experiencing broad access to inexpensive, unhealthy foods.[<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref4">6</reflink>] These compounding factors have exacerbated the deficit in meal preparation ability and "dietary maladaptation" among young people who must navigate the complex and varied food environments of the United States.[<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref5">7</reflink>] The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of an educational intervention, delivered with a "take-home and cook-with-friends" meal kit program, on college students' food agency at a public university in the United States.</p> <p>Food agency is defined as the ability to plan and prepare one's everyday meals within a specific food environment.[<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref6">8</reflink>] Here, the food environment specifically refers to not only the material and social spaces in which shopping and cooking take place but also the socioeconomic and geographic forces that shape consumers' food choices. In recent years, researchers have developed an internally validated scale to measure, standardize, and compare food agency across individuals and over time.[<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref7">6</reflink>] This study uses the <emph>Cooking and Food Provisioning Action Scale</emph> (CAFPAS), developed by Lahne et al,[<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref8">9</reflink>] to measure the food agency of research participants across self-report surveys and to identify the factors that likely contributed to changes in food agency from the pretest to posttest surveys.</p> <p>The COVID-19 pandemic encompasses this project and served as a catalyst for sudden shifts within both global and local-scale food environments, including disruptions in agricultural supply chains and a significant rise in food insecurity in the United States. This article probes at whether such unexpected events can become opportunities to shift college students' meal preparation habits and increase their food resiliency when confronted with unanticipated challenges. To better frame this study's objectives and methodology, the following subsections briefly outline relevant scholarship from nutrition sciences, public health, and consumer economics, and then highlight the research objectives.</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-3">Food agency of college students and the potential effects of meal kits</hd> <p>Numerous studies have demonstrated the positive public health outcomes of home cooking; benefits include lowering the risk of chronic illness as well as strengthening interpersonal ties within households and communities.[[<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref9">10</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref10">12</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref11">14</reflink>]] Prior research suggests that adults who possess a moderate to high degree of culinary skill and financial literacy are less prone to experiencing food insecurity throughout their life.[<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref12">16</reflink>] Undergraduate students are among those groups lacking meal preparation ability, financial resources, leisure time, and access to fresh ingredients,[[<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref13">17</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref14">19</reflink>]] leading to a striking decrease in their overall agency within the broader food environment.</p> <p>A major shift in one's food environment includes an adolescent's transition toward adulthood, particularly during undergraduate study, which is characterized by high risk of "dietary maladaptation" for young Americans.[<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref15">7</reflink>] For many young people, one's food environment is significantly restricted upon moving away from their family unit to college: where meal selection may be limited by a dining hall plan and a lack of access to grocery stores and kitchen spaces. Preprepared meals provided by dining halls or restaurants can be a powerful draw for individuals lacking in food agency, who must overcome additional barriers to make meals on their own. And yet, research has shown that these restrictive options typically fail to meet the basic needs of college students, especially those predisposed to food insecurity.[<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref16">20</reflink>] By widening the pool of nutritious meal choices for this group in a controlled manner—through cooking classes or meal kits—it may become possible to closely observe firsthand both food-related behavior change and the obstacles to behavior change.</p> <p>Meal kits are a direct-to-consumer product, composed of prepared fresh ingredients and cooking instructions, that has grown increasingly popular in recent years.[<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref17">21</reflink>] They are often marketed as an alternative to traditional home cooking whereby some of the mental labor of meal planning, shopping, and physical preparation has already been completed. Recent studies have demonstrated that meal kits can act as a novel approach to enhancing access to healthy foods and boosting diet quality of low-income households.[<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref18">22</reflink>],[<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref19">23</reflink>] Indeed, a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Vermont demonstrated that meal kit provision generated a pronounced improvement in food agency scores in undergraduate students posttreatment in the short term, though it did not affect diet quality or cooking frequency.[<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref20">6</reflink>]</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-4">Consumer preferences and opportunities for engaging with community</hd> <p>Among undergraduate students, the primary determinants of food choice are taste, value, convenience and healthiness, respectively.[[<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref21">24</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref22">26</reflink>]] The fact that "healthiness" is on the minds of young people is in line with wider trends in the United States—Americans are increasingly seeking out foods characterized as fresh, sustainable, organic, and healthy.[<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref23">27</reflink>],[<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref24">28</reflink>] If meal kits can "stack" several of these values affecting food choice by offering a cost- and time-efficient way to make a healthy dinner, it is possible that they can reduce barriers to participation in alternative food systems.[<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref25">29</reflink>] Moreover, scheduled meal kits offer the possibility of cooking <emph>and</emph> eating together with members of one's household by carving out a structured time for meal preparation within busy student schedules. In this way, subscription services offer a novel way to choreograph and ritualize a particular type of meal, thereby changing food-related behaviors in the longer term.</p> <p>In <emph>Global Jewish Foodways</emph>, Diner and Cinotto[<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref26">30</reflink>] suggest that the Shabbat dinner can be grasped as "a source of both physical and spiritual nourishment." Following this line of thought, the tradition of a weekly, home-cooked meal fuels the body, the mind, and the community. This claim is supported by survey research; among undergraduate students, meal regularity and home meal preparation are the chief factors correlated with healthy dietary patterns and social wellbeing.[<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref27">31</reflink>] Perhaps, then, the domestic sphere is an ideal setting in which to confront the idea of a "new normal," whereby public nutrition and community networks can benefit from increased access to fresh, local ingredients and routine meal preparation—and as we will discuss, establishing a practice of convivial home cooking is one way to cultivate food resiliency in a changing world.</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-5">Combining a food agency educational intervention with meal kits</hd> <p>To help college students enhance their meal preparation skills, the local chapter of Hillel International at a northeast university has joined a wider movement of organizations around the country launching meal assistance programs for students. Other examples of cooking and meal assistance programs for college students include the "Teaching Kitchen" at Stanford University and University of Hartford Hillel's food pantry program.[<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref28">32</reflink>],[<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref29">33</reflink>] The campus organization specific to this study has offered a Shabbat meal kit delivery program for undergraduates called <emph>Hillel Fresh</emph> since 2019. Meal kits, composed of local produce and other healthy cooking ingredients, serve as a potential model for strengthening students' relationships to nearby foodways through an innovative approach to a traditional religious practice. Funded through Hillel International and run by student volunteers, the meal kit program is a grassroots initiative intended to foster a sense of community, promote cross-cultural Jewish values across the campus's diverse student population, and instill the ritual of sustainable home cooking within the day-to-day lives of young people. However, there is limited knowledge about the program's effectiveness in improving students' meal preparation skills and the potential for program expansion both in the region and across the country.</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-6">Research objectives</hd> <p>This research project was developed from a transdisciplinary collaboration between a food anthropologist, two applied economists, two research associates, and two undergraduate students. The project's major goal was to assess the effects of an educational intervention on college students' food agency. Three specific objectives were developed to attain the above goal: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref30">1</reflink>) to develop educational materials and design a sound experiment for collecting primary data that could be used to measure the food agency of college students, (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref31">2</reflink>) to understand the effects of the educational intervention on food agency through hypothesis tests and regression analysis, and (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref32">3</reflink>) to derive and share recommendations for enhancing college students' food agency.</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-7">Methods</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0180828338-8">Experimental design</hd> <p>This study used a randomized "pretest and posttest" experimental design to examine the effects of a food agency educational intervention. The project was approved by the university's Institutional Review Board (IRB). Students who opted to participate in the study were randomly assigned into either an intervention or control group. The intervention group was engaged in online educational activities as part of their involvement and, by design, composed approximately 70% of the sample. More specifically, the intervention group received recipes, meal kits and educational materials, while the control group participants received only recipes and meal kits. Recipes required increasing meal preparation skill over the course of this study, providing students with the opportunity to move outside their cooking "comfort zones." Fresh ingredients were obtained from nearby farms and included a pamphlet describing where the produce in each box was grown and information regarding the farm's history.</p> <p>For the intervention group, educational materials comprised of three components: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref33">1</reflink>) Web-based educational video modules that employed food agency pedagogy, (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref34">2</reflink>) a <emph>mise en place</emph> activity (completed before receiving the ingredients), and (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref35">3</reflink>) a <emph>Sensory Self-Evaluation</emph> activity (completed after Friday night's dinner). Five required online video modules were posted on a website the week prior to the first meal kit distribution and remained accessible to the intervention group throughout the course of the study. These videos varied in length from 3 to 45 minutes, with a total video time of approximately 95 minutes. Video content introduced participants to the basic tenets of food agency, including: the historic and cultural context of everyday meal preparation practices in the United States, the Food Agency approach, the concept of <emph>mise en place</emph>, and food sensory analysis. Four of the five videos were developed and filmed by the fourth author of this article.</p> <p>The <emph>mise en place</emph> activity allowed participants to envision and sequence the steps involved in their meal preparation ahead of time, using a structured template. The <emph>sensory self-evaluation</emph> activity was designed for participants to develop analytic and communication skills in relation to their sensory experience by describing what they saw, smelled, tasted, and felt.</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-9">Recruitment processes</hd> <p>In the spring semester of 2021, 186 students were recruited at a public university in the northeast United States to participate in a five-week meal kit program. Student participants were initially recruited over a three-week period via recruitment flyers and emails sent through university academic departments and social organizations. Because on-campus students have limited access to kitchen facilities, participants of this project were limited to students who live off-campus. While students living off-campus were recruited, participants were restricted to inviting only others in their household when preparing and eating Friday dinner to ensure compliance with safety protocols of the university during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, study participants include only students who were living off-campus for the duration of the study and who were willing to commit to the entire five weeks of the Hillel Fresh program.</p> <p>Weekly meal kits of fresh, local ingredients were assembled by student volunteers at the Hillel organization and distributed to all participants' homes, where participants were encouraged to prepare and eat Friday night dinner with their roommates and friends. Over the course of the study, approximately 930 meal kits were distributed over a period of five weeks at no cost to participants. The effects of the educational intervention were measured using both online surveys and focus groups, and the resulting data were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods.</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-10">Survey procedures</hd> <p>Two online surveys with the same questionnaire—pretest and posttest—were distributed to and completed by participants in both the control and intervention groups. Survey items included the 28 CAFPAS Likert-based statements,[<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref36">9</reflink>] demographic questions, and questions regarding students' knowledge of and participation in Shabbat rituals. Two additional posttest surveys were also conducted to examine the prolonged effects of the intervention, but the data from the two additional posttest surveys are not examined in this paper due to their low response rates and a high percentage of incomplete surveys when compared to the first two surveys. The major reasons for the data problems with these two additional posttest surveys include midterm exams, a canceled spring break, changes in university policies related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and increased outdoor activities in late spring. The complete survey instrument is available in the Appendix.</p> <p>The first survey was conducted as a pretest during the week prior to the meal kit program in order to capture key information regarding students' baseline food agency. The posttest survey was conducted on the Sunday during Week 1 of the study, after the first Friday meal kit dinner and educational materials were provided. To avoid survey attrition, students were offered the chance to win cooking-related incentives, including cooking supplies and gift cards to the local co-op grocery, in exchange for completing their survey and, if applicable, the <emph>mise en place</emph> activity.</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-11">Calculation of CAFPAS scores</hd> <p>Food agency of individual participants was measured using the 28 statements of the CAFPAS developed by Lahne et al.[<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref37">9</reflink>] The CAPFAS scores were calculated using the following procedure:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> The CAFPAS includes a total of 28 Likert-based statements intended to measure food agency. Statements are divided into three subscale groups that measure food self-efficacy, food attitudes and food structures. These three components represent individuals' perceptions of their meal preparation ability, their attitude around meal preparation, and their barriers to meal preparation within the food environment, respectively.</item> <p></p> <item> Participants are asked to rate each of the 28 statements, where a score of 1 is coded as "Strongly Disagree" and 7 is coded as "Strongly Agree."</item> <p></p> <item> Individual subscale scores are calculated by summing their specific responses to 13 of the 28 statements for Self-Efficacy (SE), 10 of the 28 statements for Attitude (A), and 5 of the 28 statements for Structure (S). Statements with negative phrasing should have their scores reversed during Step 3 (eg, "I feel like cooking is a waste of effort."). These scores are then standardized by dividing by the standard deviation of the sample's subscale score, as follows:</item> <p></p> </ulist> <p>• </p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><msub><mrow><mtext mathvariant="italic">SE</mtext></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msub><mo>=</mo><mfrac><mrow><mtext mathvariant="italic">Statement</mtext><mi mathvariant="normal" /><mn>1</mn><mo>+</mo><mtext mathvariant="italic">Statement</mtext><mi mathvariant="normal" /><mn>2</mn><mo>+</mo><mo>...</mo><mo>+</mo><mtext mathvariant="italic">Statement</mtext><mi mathvariant="normal" /><mn>13</mn></mrow><mrow><mtext mathvariant="italic">Standard Deviation</mtext><mo>(</mo><msub><mrow><mtext mathvariant="italic">SE</mtext></mrow><mrow><mtext mathvariant="italic">sample</mtext></mrow></msub><mo>)</mo></mrow></mfrac></math> </ephtml> </p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> Finally, an individual CAFPAS score can be calculated by summing three individual subscale factors, where:</item> <p></p> </ulist> <p>• </p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><msub><mrow><mtext mathvariant="italic">CAFPAS</mtext></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msub><mo>=</mo><mi>S</mi><msub><mrow><mi>E</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msub><mo>+</mo><msub><mrow><mi>A</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msub><mo>+</mo><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>i</mi></mrow></msub></math> </ephtml> </p> <p>CAFPAS is therefore understood as a holistic proxy for comparing food agency across individuals in a sample. For the purposes of this study, CAFPAS scores were calculated for individuals in both control and intervention groups using data from the pretest and posttest surveys, respectively, to assess the changes in students' food agency.</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-12">Data analysis</hd> <p>Primary quantitative data from the pretest and posttest surveys was coded and analyzed using R and RStudio.[<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref38">34</reflink>] First, hypothesis tests using Welch's T Test were conducted for the control and intervention groups, respectively, to examine if the change in CAFPAS score from the pretest to posttest surveys was statistically significant. A regression analysis was also conducted to examine and quantify the impacts of the educational intervention and demographic variables on the changes in the CAFPAS scores.</p> <p>Following the five-week study period, two focus group sessions (<emph>n</emph> = 6 and <emph>n</emph> = 8) of one hour each were held with student participants from the intervention group in order to gather complementary qualitative data regarding student experiences in the program and with the educational materials. This data was later examined using traditional qualitative data analysis methods through a system of manual coding by three members of the research team.</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-13">Results</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0180828338-14">Summary statistics</hd> <p>Out of the initial sample population (<emph>n</emph> = 186), 67 students withdrew from the study or did not complete the surveys, leaving a total 119 participants in the following analysis. Among these participants, the average age of respondents was approximately 22 years old, with a majority of participants identifying as female (72%) and/or white (87%). Across the pretest and initial posttest survey, intervention and control groups did not notably differ in terms of demographic makeup (Table 1).</p> <p>Table 1. Demographic characteristics of research participants.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td /><td>Control group (<italic>n</italic> = 33)</td><td>Intervention group (<italic>n</italic> = 86)</td><td>All participants (<italic>n</italic> = 119)</td></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>Age</td><td char=".">21.13</td><td char=".">22.06</td><td char=".">21.81</td></tr><tr><td>Gender</td><td /><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> Male</td><td char=".">15.2%</td><td char=".">22.1%</td><td char=".">20.2%</td></tr><tr><td> Female</td><td char=".">78.8%</td><td char=".">69.8%</td><td char=".">72.3%</td></tr><tr><td> Nonbinary</td><td char=".">0%</td><td char=".">5.8%</td><td char=".">4.2%</td></tr><tr><td> N/A</td><td char=".">6.0%</td><td char=".">2.3%</td><td char=".">3.3%</td></tr><tr><td>Race</td><td /><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> White</td><td char=".">81.8%</td><td char=".">88.4%</td><td char=".">86.6%</td></tr><tr><td> Asian/Pacific Islander</td><td char=".">9.1%</td><td char=".">7.0%</td><td char=".">7.6%</td></tr><tr><td> Other</td><td char=".">3.0%</td><td char=".">2.3%</td><td char=".">2.5%</td></tr><tr><td> N/A</td><td char=".">6.1%</td><td char=".">2.3%</td><td char=".">3.3%</td></tr><tr><td>Class status</td><td /><td /><td /></tr><tr><td> Freshman</td><td char=".">3.0%</td><td char=".">0%</td><td char=".">0.8%</td></tr><tr><td> Sophomore</td><td char=".">3.0%</td><td char=".">3.5%</td><td char=".">3.4%</td></tr><tr><td> Junior</td><td char=".">33.3%</td><td char=".">39.5%</td><td char=".">37.8%</td></tr><tr><td> Senior</td><td char=".">54.5%</td><td char=".">47.7%</td><td char=".">49.6%</td></tr><tr><td> Grad student</td><td char=".">0%</td><td char=".">1.2%</td><td char=".">0.8%</td></tr><tr><td> Other or N/A</td><td char=".">6.2%</td><td char=".">8.1%</td><td char=".">7.6%</td></tr><tr><td>Meals cooked per week (pretest mean)</td><td char=".">9.47</td><td char=".">10.41</td><td char=".">10.15</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0180828338-15">Hypothesis testing and regression analysis</hd> <p>First, to test whether CAFPAS scores were affected by the educational material provided with meal kits, a one-tail Welch's T Test using unpaired data was conducted. This test examined whether the average CAFPAS score from the posttest survey was significantly higher than that from the pretest survey for the control and intervention groups, respectively. Second, a multiple linear regression model was developed to assess the impacts of the educational materials and demographic variables on the changes in the CAFPAS score from the pretest survey to the posttest survey. The sample size for the regression analysis was 69.</p> <p>As shown in Table 2, both control and intervention groups experienced an increase in mean CAFPAS score from the pretest to posttest surveys. For the intervention group, the increase of 1.37 in mean CAFPAS score was statistically significant at the.01 significance level. This result indicates that the educational materials had a positive and significant effect on the food agency of college students, at least in the short term. On the other hand, the increase of 0.44 in mean CAFPAS score for the control group was not statistically significant at the.05 significance level. The test results for the intervention and control groups together suggest that the educational intervention had a positive and statistically significant impact on the participants' food agency.</p> <p>Table 2. Hypothesis tests on mean CAFPAS scores for pretest and posttest surveys.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td /><td>Control group</td><td>Intervention group</td></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>Δ Mean CAFPAS Score</td><td>+ 0.44</td><td>+ 1.37</td></tr><tr><td>H<sub>0</sub></td><td>Δ Mean CAFPAS = 0 Δ Mean CAFPAS = 0</td></tr><tr><td>H<sub>A</sub></td><td>Δ Mean CAFPAS > 0 Δ Mean CAFPAS > 0</td></tr><tr><td>T-stat</td><td>0.7099</td><td>3.5861</td></tr><tr><td><italic>p</italic>-Value</td><td>0.2403</td><td><bold>0.0002***</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Result</td><td>Accept null hypothesis</td><td>Reject null hypothesis</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>1 <emph>Note</emph>. Δ denotes the change.</p> <p>2 *** <emph>p</emph>-Value significant at the 0.01 level.</p> <p>The estimated regression model, reported in Table 3, suggests three major findings: First, the educational intervention showed a positive and statistically significant impact on the increase in CAFPAS score—a finding which is consistent with the results of the hypothesis tests reported in Table 2. Note that sample size is notably smaller in the regression analysis than the hypothesis tests because of data loss in the pairing process to calculate the change in individuals' CAFPAS scores between the pretest and posttest. Second, lack of previous cooking class experience also demonstrated a positive and statistically significant increase in CAFPAS score, perhaps pointing toward the particular effectiveness of the intervention for those with the least cooking skill at the outset of the intervention. Third, no significant impacts were found for any other demographic variables included in the regression model. Such findings may point toward the beneficial impact of the educational intervention across a variety of demographic groups.</p> <p>Table 3. Estimation results of the linear regression model (<emph>n</emph> = 69).</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td>Variable</td><td>Definition</td><td>Estimated coefficient</td><td>Standard error</td><td>T-Statistic</td></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td><italic>Intercept</italic></td><td /><td char=".">0.02141</td><td char=".">1.27312</td><td char=".">0.017</td></tr><tr><td><italic>Age</italic></td><td>Numerical age</td><td char=".">0.12371</td><td char=".">0.33518</td><td char=".">0.369</td></tr><tr><td><italic>Average meals Cooked per week</italic></td><td>Estimated average number of meals cooked per week by a student</td><td char=".">0.02433</td><td char=".">0.02736</td><td char=".">0.889</td></tr><tr><td><italic>Cooking class experience</italic></td><td>1 for 'no prior cooking class experience,' 0 for otherwise</td><td char=".">0.62710</td><td char=".">0.33129</td><td><bold>1.893*</bold></td></tr><tr><td><italic>Female (gender)</italic></td><td>1 for female and 0 for male or otherwise</td><td char=".">0.25592</td><td char=".">0.39953</td><td char=".">0.641</td></tr><tr><td><italic>Nonbinary (gender)</italic></td><td>1 for nonbinary and 0 for female or male</td><td char=".">0.86371</td><td char=".">1.28737</td><td char=".">0.671</td></tr><tr><td><italic>Sophomore (class)</italic></td><td>1 for sophomore and 0 for otherwise</td><td char=".">−3.11983</td><td char=".">7.07977</td><td char=".">−0.441</td></tr><tr><td><italic>Junior (class)</italic></td><td>1 for junior and 0 for otherwise</td><td char=".">−3.00123</td><td char=".">7.33225</td><td char=".">−0.409</td></tr><tr><td><italic>Senior (class)</italic></td><td>1 for senior and 0 for otherwise</td><td char=".">−3.60131</td><td char=".">7.55981</td><td char=".">−0.476</td></tr><tr><td><italic>Other (class)</italic></td><td>1 for other class and 0 for otherwise</td><td char=".">−1.85371</td><td char=".">9.22291</td><td char=".">−0.201</td></tr><tr><td><italic>Asian or Pacific Islander</italic></td><td>1 for Asian/Pacific Islander and 0 for otherwise</td><td char=".">1.05052</td><td char=".">0.75578</td><td char=".">1.390</td></tr><tr><td><italic>Intervention group</italic></td><td>1 for intervention group and 0 for control group</td><td char=".">0.90253</td><td char=".">0.34222</td><td><bold>2.637**</bold></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <ulist> <item>3 <emph>Note:</emph> Residual standard error: 1.206 on 55 degrees of freedom.</item> <item>4 Multiple R-squared: 0.2441, Adjusted R-squared: 0.09298.</item> <item>5 F-stat = 1.615 on 11 and 55 degrees of freedom.</item> <item>6 <emph>* p</emph>-Value significant at the 0.1 level. ** <emph>p</emph>-Value significant at the 0.05 level.</item> </ulist> <p>While the total CAFPAS score is determined by the sum of three subscale scores, examining the variation across subscale scores over time may provide additional insights into how the educational intervention specifically enhanced food agency. Statistical analysis revealed significant changes in food <emph>self-efficacy</emph>, food <emph>attitudes</emph>, and food <emph>structures</emph> for the intervention group. First, the mean self-efficacy score of the intervention group increased by a statistically significant amount (see Table 4). This result may point to the ways that meal kits may ease some barriers to cooking— such as food provisioning and planning burdens—on college students. Second, the mean attitude score increased by a statistically significant amount, demonstrating that educational materials have the potential to shift student perceptions around the act of cooking. Third, the intervention group experienced an increase in mean food structure score, but the increase was not statistically significant. This result may suggest that meal kit interventions are unlikely to drastically shift the broader food environment of young consumers but may nudge them in a positive direction.</p> <p>Table 4. Changes in CAPFAS subscale scores between pretest and posttest surveys for the intervention group.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td /><td>Self-Efficacy</td><td>Attitude</td><td>Structure</td><td>Total CAFPAS</td></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>Δ mean subscale score</td><td char=".">+ 0.8901</td><td char=".">+ 0.3186</td><td char=".">+ 0.1593</td><td char=".">+ 1.37</td></tr><tr><td>T-Statistic</td><td char=".">5.802***</td><td char=".">2.076**</td><td char=".">1.039</td><td char=".">3.586***</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <ulist> <item>7 <emph>Note:</emph> Δ denotes the change.</item> <item>8 <emph>** p</emph>-Value significant at the 0.05 level.</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0180828338-16">Additional findings</hd> <p>To examine the effects of the meal kit program and educational intervention on students' preferences for cooking with local foods, the following question was asked during the pretest and posttest surveys: "In the last week, excluding your Hillel Fresh box, how many times did you incorporate locally sourced foods (from a farmers' market, CSA share, or co-op grocery store) into meals?" Both control and intervention groups experienced increases in mean frequency (+.89 and +.92, respectively), but these increases were not statistically significant.</p> <p>Nonprompted general experiences were also investigated. Two focus group sessions were held with intervention group students at the end of the five-week meal kit distribution period. When asked about their overall experiences in the program, three primary themes were observed among student responses. First, the meal provided an opportunity to "be together" with members of their household during a time marked by COVID-19 social-gathering restrictions. Notably, one student stated that the meals imparted a "family feeling and a community-based beginning to the weekend." Second, the preparation of the Shabbat dinner involved a process of "slowing down" as opposed to "being in a rush." In addition to deepening social ties and fostering a greater sense of community, the scheduled meal kit provided a weekly period of respite from the busyness of student schedules. These comments point toward the ways that communal meals provide value beyond the nutritional, benefitting the social and mental aspects of daily life[<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref39">35</reflink>] by allowing students to "unplug" from digital devices.[<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref40">36</reflink>] Third, participants reported that meal kits provided a structured means through which participants practiced their cooking abilities and moved beyond their comfort zones. For one student, this meant he was no longer "scared of [his] oven" and as a result, possessed "a lot more confidence in [his] kitchen skills."</p> <p>For a few students, busy schedules and financial constraints meant that they felt unable to continue this new meal preparation habit in the future. In addition, though the program prompted deeper reflection among students and their households about purchasing local ingredients, many participants stated that they felt uncertain about whether they would be able to continue purchasing local foods in the longer term due to a perception that local foods are more expensive.</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-17">Discussion</hd> <p>This research explored the effects of an educational intervention delivered through a "take-home and cook-with-friends" meal kit program on the meal preparation abilities and habits of students at a public university in the northeast United States. In the short term, this study achieved this objective by testing the efficacy of the Hillel Fresh program in bolstering the food agency of undergraduate students using the CAFPAS food agency scale. Educational interventions—when combined with meal kits—show initial promise in increasing the CAFPAS scores of undergraduate students. Primary findings of this study include the following:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> Educational interventions have the potential to enhance overall food agency scores, which are a comprehensive measurement of self-efficacy, attitude, and structures surrounding meal preparation activities.</item> <p></p> <item> Unlike an individual's self-efficacy or attitude toward cooking, broader food environments—or structures—are less likely to shift as a result of these types of limited interventions.</item> <p></p> <item> Scheduled meal kit programs can promote a sense of conviviality among those living independently (with housemates) by ritualizing the communal meal preparation and dining experience.</item> </ulist> <p>The above results support the notion that food agency is a complex and multifaceted characteristic—subject to change based on numerous factors including one's skillset, mindset, and surrounding food environment. In the shorter term, students were eager to participate in this study and possessed high levels of initial engagement, yet longer term wear-out over the course of the academic term led to survey attrition, and the effects of this research intervention on students' longer term food resiliency remain partially uncertain. Yet it is also possible that this experience has primed participants for behavior change when they possess more time or greater levels of financial wherewithal later in life.</p> <p>Beyond the restrictions on social gatherings posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, this study experienced two major limitations. First, a large number of participants did not report specific information (such as survey ID) in some surveys and this missing information somewhat inhibited the data pairing process for the regression analysis. Second, the large reduction in the response rate during the second and third posttest surveys—due to such factors as academic exams, a canceled spring break, and changes in COVID-19 restrictions during the semester—restricted the study from testing the impacts of the educational intervention beyond the initial posttest. As a result, the findings reported in this study should be interpreted as short-term. Future research is needed to track the impacts of educational interventions on larger timescales and across more diverse samples. The participants of this project were limited to students who were already or who were more likely to be associated with the local Hillel organization, and future research should be expanded to include broader demographic groups. Additional research approaches may combine food agency pedagogy with multiple outreach strategies, such as cooking workshops, social media interventions, or subsidized participation in community supported agriculture (CSA). Future strategies for improving the food agency of young people may benefit from direct student engagement in educational curriculum development.</p> <p>The short-term findings of this study, though encouraging in terms of individual empowerment, shed light on broader structural issues that may be addressed at the policy level. First, meal preparation curriculum is now marginalized at the primary and secondary level of American schooling, leading to a dearth of culinary skills upon adolescence.[<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref41">37</reflink>] As Helen Zoe Veit[<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref42">38</reflink>] and others have argued, instilling in young adults the value of and ability to cook at home with fresh, local ingredients is one critical step in tackling the United States' current public health and nutrition challenges. Second, food insecurity and nutrition problems can persist even among those with strong cooking skills,[<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref43">39</reflink>] while time poverty among the American population prevents many from cooking or learning to cook.[<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref44">40</reflink>] Though meal kits lessen some of the logistics planning and mental labor associated with traditional cooking, they cannot fully replace the convenience of low cost, energy rich processed foods for those with limited financial resources or time.[<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref45">41</reflink>]</p> <p>Lastly, unexpected events, such as economic recessions or natural disasters, are often immediate precursors to widespread food insecurity within the United States.[<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref46">42</reflink>],[<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref47">43</reflink>] Linking consumers to smaller chains of production through subscription-based services presents an opportunity for enhancing food resilience within vulnerable communities and promoting economic development within regional food markets. Local food supply chains have proved much quicker to adapt to the ripple effects of COVID-19 than large-scale vertically integrated agricultural production systems.[<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref48">44</reflink>] This phenomenon raises the question: Could unexpected events be viewed as opportunities for change within the current agricultural system? At no point since perhaps the Great Depression of the 1930s have Americans noticed the "'invisible hand and infrastructure' that assures an ample and affordable food supply" as much as they have during the current pandemic.[<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref49">45</reflink>],[<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref50">46</reflink>] At the same time, many parts of the world have experienced home cooking "revivals," decreases in food waste, and changes in cooking-related gender disparities during periods of lockdown.[[<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref51">47</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref52">49</reflink>]] Moving forward, perhaps it will be possible to harness broader moments of precarity—such as the COVID-19 pandemic—to reflect on barriers to home cooking and reexamine the configuration of our national and regional food networks.</p> <p>Though this study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and the empirical analyses were limited to the data the pretest and first posttest surveys, the empirical findings suggest that educational interventions hold promise in enhancing college students' food agency, at least in the short term. Further research should examine the effects of alternative educational interventions and over longer terms.</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-18">Acknowledgments</hd> <p>The authors would like to thank the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Food Systems Research Center (FSRC) at the University of Vermont (UVM) for its financial support for this project, the UVM Hillel organization for helping recruit students and providing the meal kits, and Matt Vogel, Lindsey Sigal, Sophie Sherbin, and Leah Kostick for their assistance in this project.</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-19">Conflict of interest disclosure</hd> <p>The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America, and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of the University of Vermont.</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-20">Data availability statement</hd> <p>Data used in this paper are available from the corresponding author.</p> <hd id="AN0180828338-21">Appendix. Survey instrument</hd> <p>Hillel Fresh Spring 2021</p> <p></p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td>Please read each statement and select your level of agreement, where 1 is strongly disagree and 7 is strongly agree.</td></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Before I start cooking, I usually have a mental plan of all the steps I will need to complete.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>In preparing food, I can solve most problems with enough effort.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>When I shop for food, I know how I will use the ingredients I am purchasing.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I feel like cooking is a waste of effort.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>My family responsibilities prevent me from having time to prepare meals.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I feel limited by my lack of cooking knowledge.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>If everything else is equal, I choose to cook rather than have food prepared by someone else.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I find cooking a very fulfilling activity.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Compared to other activities, cooking brings me little enjoyment.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I am confident creating meals from the ingredients I have on hand.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I am inspired to cook for other people, like my family or friends.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I think a lot about what I will cook or eat.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I know where to find the ingredients I need to prepare a meal.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>For me, cooking is just something to get through as quickly as possible.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I feel burdened by having to cook for other people, like my family or friends.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I know how to use the kitchen equipment I have.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>When preparing food it is easy for me to accomplish my desired results.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I am comfortable preparing food.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>My job responsibilities prevent me from having the time to prepare meals.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>When preparing food, I am confident that I can deal with unexpected results.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I wish that I had more time to plan meals.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I am involved in daily meal preparation.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I can always manage to decide what I would like to eat at any given time.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I have a hard time finding enough time to prepare the food I'd like to eat.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>If I try making a new type of food it does not come out right, I usually do not try to make it again.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>When presented with two similar products to purchase, I feel confident choosing between them.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>My social responsibilities prevent me from having the time to prepare meals.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I prefer to spend my time on more important things than food.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I feel comfortable celebrating Shabbat with my friends at school.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I find Shabbat rituals to be meaningful.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I feel comfortable leading my friends in Shabbat rituals.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>I have a good understanding of what Shabbat is and the different customs celebrated during Shabbat.</p></list-item></list></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>What does Shabbat mean to you? [Text response]</p> <p>Why are you choosing to participate in Hillel Fresh? [Text response]</p> <p>How many times have you received a Hillel Fresh box to date? [Please select a numerical value]</p> <p>On average, how many meals do you cook per week? [Please select a numerical value]</p> <p>Have you participated in a cooking class? [Yes/Not Sure/No]</p> <p>Do you currently live on- or off-campus? [On campus/Off Campus/Other ___]</p> <p>What was your role in Friday's Shabbat dinner? Please check all that apply.</p> <p>o Host</p> <p>o Guest</p> <p>o Helped cook the meal.</p> <p>o Helped set the table for Shabbat.</p> <p>o Helped lead Shabbat service.</p> <p>o Participated in activities at the table during the meal.</p> <p>o Cleaned up.</p> <p>o Other (Please write in your response below): _________</p> <p>In the last week, excluding your Hillel Fresh box, how many times did you incorporate locally sourced foods (from a Farmers Market, CSA or co-op grocery store) into meals? [Numerical value]</p> <p>Click-and-drag the following terms to rank between 1 to 5 in order of how you identify your typical eating behaviors, 1 being the most accurate description of your typical eating behavior and 5 being the least accurate description of your typical eating behavior.</p> <p>______ Green eater (my typical diet limits fast processed foods and focuses on plant-based and organic produce)</p> <p>______ Healthy eater (my typical diet contains nutritious foods that maintains my health)</p> <p>______ Convenience eater (my typical diet consists of pre-made frozen meals, or processed and packaged foods)</p> <p>______ Fast food eater (my typical diet consists of fast foods like pizza, fries and burgers)</p> <p>______ Sustainable eater (my typical diet is locally sourced, humanely raised, ecologically sound, and produced paying fair wages)</p> <p>My typical eating behavior also applies to my snacking behavior. [Strongly Disagree/Somewhat Disagree/Neither Agree Nor Disagree/Somewhat Agree/Strongly Agree]</p> <p>What is your gender identification? [Male/Female/Non-binary/Other ____]</p> <p>In what year were you born? [YYYY]</p> <p>What is your current class status? [First year/Sophomore/Junior/Senior/Grad Student/Other ___]</p> <p>What is your major and minor?</p> <p>o Major _________________</p> <p>o Minor ________________</p> <p>What race do you identify with? (Please select all that apply)</p> <p>o White/Caucasian</p> <p>o Black/African-American</p> <p>o Asian/Pacific Islander</p> <p>o Native American/First Nations</p> <p>o Other ________________________________________________</p> <p>Are you of Latino or Spanish ethnicity? 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  Data: Convivial Cooking: Impacts of an Educational Intervention on College Students' Food Agency
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  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Qingbin+Wang%22">Qingbin Wang</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Natasha+Baranow%22">Natasha Baranow</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jane+Kolodinsky%22">Jane Kolodinsky</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7322-0889">0000-0001-7322-0889</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Amy+Trubek%22">Amy Trubek</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Weiwei+Wang%22">Weiwei Wang</searchLink>
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  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+American+College+Health%22"><i>Journal of American College Health</i></searchLink>. 2024 72(8):2652-2660.
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  Label: Availability
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  Data: Taylor & Francis. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
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  Label: Peer Reviewed
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  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 9
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2024
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  Label: Document Type
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research<br />Tests/Questionnaires
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Instructional+Materials%22">Instructional Materials</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Students%22">College Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Food%22">Food</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Personal+Autonomy%22">Personal Autonomy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Food+Service%22">Food Service</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nutrition%22">Nutrition</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cooking+Instruction%22">Cooking Instruction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Attitudes%22">Student Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Eating+Habits%22">Eating Habits</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Home+Programs%22">Home Programs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Friendship%22">Friendship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sharing+Behavior%22">Sharing Behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Intervention%22">Intervention</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Undergraduate+Students%22">Undergraduate Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Universities%22">Universities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Partnerships+in+Education%22">Partnerships in Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Religious+Organizations%22">Religious Organizations</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1080/07448481.2022.2122721
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0744-8481<br />1940-3208
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Objective: This research examines the effects of educational materials, delivered with "take-home and cook-with-friends" meal kits, on college students' food agency. Participants: In the spring of 2021, 186 students were recruited at a US public university and randomly allocated into either an intervention group that received meal kits and educational materials or a control group that received only meal kits. Methods: Meal kits containing local ingredients were distributed weekly to the participants and surveys were conducted to measure participants' food agency, using the "Cooking and Food Provisioning Action Scale" (CAFPAS). Hypothesis tests and regression analysis were then conducted to examine the educational intervention's effects on the CAFPAS scores. Results: The educational intervention had a positive and statistically significant effect on students' CAFPAS scores. Conclusions: Educational interventions hold promise in enhancing college students' food agency, at least in the short term.
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  Label: Entry Date
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  Data: 2024
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  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1448395
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1448395
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        Value: 10.1080/07448481.2022.2122721
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 9
        StartPage: 2652
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Instructional Materials
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: College Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Food
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Personal Autonomy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Food Service
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Nutrition
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cooking Instruction
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Eating Habits
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Home Programs
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      – SubjectFull: Friendship
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      – SubjectFull: Sharing Behavior
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      – SubjectFull: Intervention
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      – SubjectFull: Undergraduate Students
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      – SubjectFull: Universities
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      – SubjectFull: Partnerships in Education
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      – SubjectFull: Religious Organizations
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      – TitleFull: Convivial Cooking: Impacts of an Educational Intervention on College Students' Food Agency
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