Abstract
Understand the development and objective of a theory-based nutrition education intervention aimed at improving dietary intake, stress, and life satisfaction in food insecure college students. Food insecure college students are at an increased risk for obesity, co-morbidities, and decreased mental health. Previous literature has stated that food insecure students could potentially benefit from tailored nutrition and life skill education. The current study describes the development of a Social Cognitive Theory based nutrition education intervention which uses urban gardening and cooking workshops to increase health mediators, fruit and vegetable intake, stress, and life satisfaction in food insecure college students. The program which is meant to take place over 6 weeks includes 3 hands-on cooking demonstrations and 3 hands-on gardening demonstrations. The small group sessions were developed to be one hour long, once a week, with various session availability to accommodate class schedules. Intervention sessions were developed based on Social Cognitive Theory mediators including outcome expectation, observational learning, facilitation, reciprocal determinism and self-efficacy. Educational topics and materials were tailored to meet the specific needs of food insecure students. Topics included MyPlate, understanding food labels, budgeting, and various gardening tips and tricks such as reusing vegetable scraps. The recipes used for cooking demonstrations were created to be nutritionally balanced, quick, and easy. Recipes contained food items that were affordable, could be obtained from food pantries, and dorm friendly. Take home materials included nutrition education handouts, recipes, and a windowsill garden. We are currently evaluating this program using a randomized control trial. Future directions include the extension of the program across different college campuses.
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