Bon Appétit! A Process Evaluation of a Campus-Based Food Bank
The University of Ottawa Bon Appétit! food bank was established to protect students against food insecurity and hunger. The current study seeks to determine program outcomes through a review of services, initiatives, and activities offered to students. Surveys and semistructured interviews were used to collect information from the 3 levels of involvement: service recipients, program volunteers, and program coordinators. Results revealed adequate program satisfaction at all levels. However, insufficient communication of policy-related issues, poor dissemination of roles and responsibilities, and minimal documentation of best practices were also among the results found. Structural issues are discussed and recommendations are provided.
Evaluation of Food Insecurity among College Students
Food insecurity, defined as concern or experience with inadequate food, affected 14.7% of households in the United States in 2012. Low income and being a child are strong predictors of food insecurity suggesting that some college students will be food insecure. In addition to a low income, college students incur unique financial stresses of tuition and educational materials. This pilot study surveyed the frequency of food insecurity, and identifies some behaviors and factors associated with it. In this sample of 67 students, 19.7% were food insecure citing insufficient money as the primary contributor. Students were reducing meal size, or skipping meals for up to a whole day. Regular assessment of food insecurity would be instructive to universities in determining the impact of this distraction to academic success. Such information could be used to identify or develop resources tailored to alleviating or preventing food insecurity in this unique population.
Montreal Food Bank Users' Intakes Compared With Recommendations of Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating.
Demand for food assistance in Canada has grown throughout the 1990s. In a survey of the sociodemographic and nutritional characteristics of 428 adult food bank users, we used results of four 24-hour recall interviews to determine the number of servings from Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating food groups these clients were consuming. Our intent was to use a resource familiar to diverse audiences to describe the food intake of Montreal-area food bank clients. No age group and neither gender met the minimum target intake level for milk products. Mean intake of grain products and meat and alternatives met or exceeded minimum recommended levels. Women between the ages of 18 and 49 years consumed fewer servings of vegetables and fruit than the recommended minimum (4.9+/-3.2 servings). In general, food bank users' mean intakes were no worse than those of the Quebec general population, although their intake of milk products was lower. However, the mean number of food group servings varied greatly and reflected very low intakes by some food-bank clients. Nutrition education based on Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating may be one approach that food banks can take to help clients broaden the number and variety of foods consumed.