Healthy meal kits and recipe tastings attract many food pantry clients, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal Public Health Nutrition.
Food pantry clients are more likely to select whole grains and leafy greens when they are arranged with all ingredients needed to make a meal, reports a new study from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut.
Healthy Food Choices Depend on Nearby Foods on Grocery Shelf
Food choices between healthy food and indulgent food depend mainly on what food sits nearby on the supermarket shelf, reveals study at Duke University.
Advertisement
‘Meal kits and recipe tastings encourage food pantry clients to make healthier food choices such as whole grains and leafy greens.’
Read More..
Tweet it Now
Read More..
Nearly 40 million Americans face hunger, and many rely on the food banking system to supplement the groceries needed to feed themselves and their families. Consequently, it is essential to maximize the nutritional quality of food available through food pantries. At the same time, it is also important to encourage food pantry clients to select the healthier options.
"We knew that pantries in our area were providing healthier foods, but we also understood that these items might need additional promotion for clients to select them. So, as we watched meal kits take off as a popular food preparation trend, we became interested to see whether a low-cost version could serve as an attractive and convenient method for increasing healthy food selection," said study co-author Emma Stein.
![Your Neighborhood May Affect Your Healthy Food Choices: Here’s How]( "Your Neighborhood May Affect Your Healthy Food Choices: Here’s How")
Neighborhood may have a strong impact on the healthiness of dietary choices. A new study suggests that people living in an area with a lower socioeconomic status had a lower score in the food index than those living in a more prosperous community.
The study was conducted in a "client choice" food pantry, meaning clients could visit once a month and select the foods they wanted from the shelves based on personal preference and family size.
To create the meal kit, a local chef developed two different low-cost recipes featuring whole grains and kale. The pantry was open three days a week - one day each week both recipes were prepared for clients to taste, and all of the ingredients were available together in a bundle. Another day each week, the recipes were prepared and available to taste, but the ingredients were available only on the shelves as usual. On the third day, the pantry operated as usual - the ingredients were available on the shelves, but there was not a prepared recipe to taste.
Findings indicate that clients were three times as likely to take kale and whole grains when they visited the pantry on days when recipe tastings and meal kits were available, compared to the days when neither was provided.
In addition, including the meal kit with the recipe tasting doubled kale and whole grain selection when compared to providing the tasting alone. There also appeared to be a spillover effect from the meal kits - many clients selected additional brown rice and kale from the shelves, perhaps to prepare a larger portion.
Senior author of the study and Rudd Center Director, Marlene Schwartz, notes that "although providing recipes and tastings helps clients see how an unfamiliar food can be prepared, taking the extra step of putting together all of the ingredients into a bundle makes it that much more convenient for them to choose the healthier options that are offered. If we can provide these products in a way that we know will increase their selection, we are giving each client and their family the best opportunity to eat more healthfully."
Source: Eurekalert
Your Neighborhood May Affect Your Healthy Food Choices: Here’s How
Neighborhood may have a strong impact on the healthiness of dietary choices. A new study suggests that people living in an area with a lower socioeconomic status had a lower score in the food index than those living in a more prosperous community.
Advertisement
The study was conducted in a "client choice" food pantry, meaning clients could visit once a month and select the foods they wanted from the shelves based on personal preference and family size.
To create the meal kit, a local chef developed two different low-cost recipes featuring whole grains and kale. The pantry was open three days a week - one day each week both recipes were prepared for clients to taste, and all of the ingredients were available together in a bundle. Another day each week, the recipes were prepared and available to taste, but the ingredients were available only on the shelves as usual. On the third day, the pantry operated as usual - the ingredients were available on the shelves, but there was not a prepared recipe to taste.
Findings indicate that clients were three times as likely to take kale and whole grains when they visited the pantry on days when recipe tastings and meal kits were available, compared to the days when neither was provided.
In addition, including the meal kit with the recipe tasting doubled kale and whole grain selection when compared to providing the tasting alone. There also appeared to be a spillover effect from the meal kits - many clients selected additional brown rice and kale from the shelves, perhaps to prepare a larger portion.
Senior author of the study and Rudd Center Director, Marlene Schwartz, notes that "although providing recipes and tastings helps clients see how an unfamiliar food can be prepared, taking the extra step of putting together all of the ingredients into a bundle makes it that much more convenient for them to choose the healthier options that are offered. If we can provide these products in a way that we know will increase their selection, we are giving each client and their family the best opportunity to eat more healthfully."
Source: Eurekalert
Is Having a Food Shelf - Good or Bad?
Food Shelf can help an individual to select the groceries based on their food choices and knowledge on how to cook. SuperShelf strives to enhance food shelves by creating a welcoming, grocery store-like environment, making the healthiest choice, the easiest choice.
Advertisement
 Health Benefits of KaleKale is the super green food that is bursting with nutrients. It helps promote good bone and eye health, combat cancer and keep sugar levels in check. | Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Diet & Nutrition News
Scientists have found that high consumption of a common artificial sweetener, sucralose, dampen the immune response using a mice study.
For people posting food images on social media platform like Instagram, adding warm tones like red, yellow and orange can make healthy food images more eye-catching on social media
How to meet dietary needs in long-term care homes? Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help you.
Adding plant food sources to your diet and avoiding too much alcohol, salt, or sodium consumption can save you from chronic diseases.
Eating peanuts and peanut butter rich in polyphenols can improve vascular health in youngsters and healthy people.