A Quantitative Assessment of Changes in the Consumer Nutrition Environments of New York City Hispanic Caribbean Restaurants During the COVID-19 Pandemic

OBJECTIVES: (1) Examine changes in healthy food availability among Hispanic Caribbean restaurants (HCR) in response to COVID-19. (2) Assess the association between changes and restaurant type. METHODS: A random sample of HCRs (n = 89) offering Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican cuisine, were examined in Summer 2019 (T1) using the NEMS-HCR, an adapted version of the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Restaurants (NEMS-R) and reassessed after the onset of COVID-19 in January 2021 (T2, n = 76) using online menus. We examined menu changes between T1 and T2 data sets in the NEMS-HCR overall healthy food availability (HFA) score, and specific variables: the number of healthy main dish salads (HMDS) and the menu proportion of nonfried foods (NFF) on the menu. We then examined changes by restaurant type (sit-down vs. counter-style) using repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: Between T1 and T2, 7 HRCs permanently closed, 1 closed for the season, and 5 were excluded due to lack of online menus. Mean proportion of NFF significantly decreased from 71.7% ± 17.5 (T1) to 66.1% ± 17.8 (T2) (P = 0.002). Changes in HFA scores (4.5 ± 2.0 to 4.1 ± 2.2) and HMDS (1.7 ± 2.8 to 1.8 ± 3.0) were not statistically significant (P = 0.06 and P = 0.65, respectively). Repeated measures ANOVA indicated no correlation between the decrease in availability of NFF between T1 and T2 and restaurant type (P = 0.29). CONCLUSIONS: Restaurants can play a significant role in the mitigation of diet-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes by providing customers with healthy menu offerings. Our study showed a decrease in healthier menu options, particularly non-fried entrees, contributing to our understanding of how restaurants may need to adapt for their own survival in times of crisis such as a pandemic or disaster. Because unfavorable menu options can contribute to the rising incidence of diet-related chronic diseases within the community, more research is needed to understand how restaurants respond to crises in order to better support the preservation of HFA within their menu selections, and the effects of these changes in customers’ diets. FUNDING SOURCES: CUNY PSC Award and NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute