Cooking up diversity. Impact of a multicomponent, multicultural, experiential intervention on food and cooking behaviors among elementary-school students from low-income ethnically diverse families.

This study evaluated the impact of a pilot intervention promoting ethnic produce through classroom food demonstrations, tastings and home cooking activities among ethnically diverse elementary-school children ages 5-8 years old and their family members in Northern California. A total of 604 intervention students from four schools participated in classroom food demonstrations and tasting activities using seven food recipes. The control group included 600 students from two additional schools. Each recipe featured one vegetable from Latino, Hmong, or mainstream American cultures. Intervention students also received food kits containing ingredients to take home for each recipe. Mixed methods of quantitative student and parent pre-post surveys, parent feedback surveys, and qualitative focus groups were used to evaluate the intervention. Generalized estimating equations were used for survey data analysis. Qualitative data from parent focus groups were analyzed based on the principles of grounded theory. Both quantitative and qualitative results revealed that intervention students increased familiarity, preferences, and consumption of the featured vegetables and significantly increased their involvement in food preparation at home. Qualitative results showed that children were actively involved in food preparation at home. In addition, the intervention helped parents increase their appreciation for new foods and recipes. The results suggest that promoting locally grown ethnic produce to children is effective in increasing their consumption of a variety of vegetables and their involvement in food preparation at home.

Gender and race are significant determinants of students' food choices on a college campus.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the roles of gender and race in students' determinants of food choices on a college campus. METHODS: A total of 405 college students participated in a survey entitled "Campus Food: You Tell Us!" Chi-square and logistic regression were used to examine associations between demographics and food choice determinants. RESULTS: Gender and race appeared to play a significant role in determinants of students' food dislikes. Males were significantly more likely to choose cost, taste, and poor quality over poor nutrition as determinants. White students were significantly less likely to choose cost, inconvenience, and taste over poor nutrition than students of other races. Gender was also a significant factor associated with student preferences for campus dining location and determinants of unhealthful food. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Future marketing may be more effective if tailored to gender and race. Nutrition educators should consider addressing taste and convenience when attempting to influence students' food choices.