Food Literacy and Behavior Changes During Covid-19 in a University Student Population

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of our study was to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on food literacy and behaviors towards food in young adult university students. Self-reported scores on each of the five factors identified by the Eating and Food Literacy Questionnaire (EFLBQ) were used to measure change. METHODS: University students 18 to 30 years of age were recruited to complete the EFLBQ during the Covid-19 pandemic. Demographic information about gender, height, weight, race, and ethnicity were gathered. Current COVID-19 data was compared to a random sample of data collected pre-COVID-19 in a similar population group. Each of the five EFLBQ factor scores were compared using independent-sample t-tests. Significance was set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: 229 university students completed the EFLBQ during the Covid-19 pandemic. 164 participants were female (71.6%). Their race/ethnicity included: 184 White (80.3%), 26 Black (11.4%), 11 Hispanic or Latino (4.8%), 6 Asian (2.6%), and 2 reported as Other. These scores were compared to a random sample of EFLBQ scores gathered from students at the same university pre-Covid-19. The pre-Covid-19 participants included 125 females (54.6%). 177 were White (77.3%), 30 were Black (13.1%), 9 were Hispanic/Latino (3.9%), 8 were Asian (3.5%), 2 were American Indian or Alaska Native (.9%) and 3 identified as Other. Independent-sample t-tests were conducted to compare each of the five EFLBQ factor before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. There was a significant difference in scores for the pre-Covid-19 (M = 2.59, SD = 0.49) and those during the Covid-19 pandemic (M = 2.72, SD = .51) for the factor of Health and Nutrition; (t(456) = 2.86, P = .004) and the factor of Food Preparation pre-Covid-19 (M = 2.52, SD = 0.70) and during the Covid-19 pandemic (M = 2.66, SD = .76); (t(455) = 1.98. P = .049). There were no significant differences in the EFLBQ factors of Taste, Planning and Decision Making, and Convenience. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this investigation suggest that during the Covid-19 pandemic, university students have become more concerned about eating healthy foods and consuming balanced diets and are more confident about their cooking skills. FUNDING SOURCES: This project was partially funded by Hatch Project #LAB94331.