Beyond Ramen: Investigating Methods to Improve Food Agency among College Students

Many college students struggle to cook frequently, which has implications for their diet quality and health. Students’ ability to plan, procure, and prepare food (food agency) may be an important target for shifting the college student diet away from instant and inexpensive staples like packaged ramen. The randomized intervention study included two sequential cooking interventions: (1) six weeks of cooking classes based in food agency pedagogy held once per week, and (2) six weekly home delivered meal kits (3 meals per kit) to improve food agency, diet quality, and at home cooking frequency of college students. Based on availability and subsequent randomization, participants were assigned to one of four conditions that included active cooking classes, meal kit provision, or no intervention. Participants who took part in the cooking intervention had significant improvement in food agency immediately following the intervention period. Participants who did not participate in cooking classes and only received meal kits experienced significant, though less pronounced, improvement in food agency scores following the meal kit provision. Neither intervention improved diet quality or routinely improved cooking frequency. Active cooking classes may improve food agency of college students, though further research is needed to determine how this may translate into improved diet quality and increased cooking frequency.