Via Research Recognition Day Program VCOM-Carolinas 2025

Clinical Educational Research

A Quantitative Analysis of Diet and Attitudes Towards Nutrition Among Individuals Participating in a Rural Community Food Delivery Program Hannah Oswalt, Catherine Troy, Benjamin Cutler, Eugene Maung, Lilia Fernandez, Paula Lisazo, Patrick Leonard, Alexis Stoner PhD, MPH . Background Results Discussion

This community based, cross-sectional, quantitative research study highlighted challenges faced by food-insecure communities in accessing and maintaining a healthy diet. While the intervention demonstrated positive engagement, with participants utilizing the nutritional information card to improve their dietary choices, significant barriers such as the cost of healthy foods persisted. Successes • Intervention effectively reached a food-insecure population. • Participants willingly engaged with educational content. Limitations and Challenges • The survey was most likely a victim of loss to follow-up. This could have been due to people losing the survey or forgetting to complete it. Additionally, many families picked up multiple boxes and were given multiple surveys to distribute to loved ones, and the surveys could either have gotten lost or failed to be distributed. • Since the survey was self-reported, there is the possibility that it could have suffered from a response bias, in that participants could have misrepresented their eating habits to present themselves more favorably.

Figure 1 The prevalence of different health goals among survey participants. Participants were asked to document their top three health goals. The three most prevalent answers among participants were to increase their energy (23%), to be healthier overall (19%), and to maintain a healthy weight (16%).

Dietary choices are influenced by many factors, with food insecurity being a key driver that limits access to a healthy diet. 1 According to a recent study, food security is positively linked to healthier food-buying behaviors, positive attitudes toward nutritious options, and willingness to spend more on healthy foods. 1 In contrast, food insecurity is associated with poorer diet quality and lower food and nutrition literacy. 2 Research on food literacy has primarily focused on urban areas, developing nations, and international settings, leaving rural communities underexplored. 3,4 In Abbeville County, South Carolina, food insecurity remains a significant issue. This study sought to address this gap by examining diet behaviors and nutrition attitudes among participants in a food delivery program at the Abbeville Community Resource Center.

Figure 2 The prevalence of different perceived obstacles to eating healthy. The three most prevalent responses were the cost of healthy eating (54%), a lack of support system (15%), and the taste/flavor of healthy food choices (15%).

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Methods

Study Design: A community based, cross-sectional, quantitative research study to assess the diet behaviors and attitudes towards nutrition among individuals participating in a food delivery program in Abbeville, SC.

Figure 3 Number of days per week that each basic food group is

Conclusion

Population: Anyone 18 years or older who received food boxes from the Be Well Abbeville Coalition on 8/7/2024.

Station 1: Participants received a nutritional information card and survey.

The findings of this study suggest a need for continued public health efforts to enhance food and nutrition literacy and address food accessibility, particularly in rural areas like Abbeville County. Future research should explore more comprehensive strategies to reach a broader population and mitigate the limitations associated with survey response rates.

consumed by participants.

Station 2: Food boxes were loaded into participant's vehicles.

Data Collection: Surveys were collected one month after the event.

Reference

Figure 4 The prevalence of

participants finding the nutritional information card helpful for diet improvement. The graph shows that two thirds of participants utilized the nutritional information card to build healthier plates.

1. Nam SJ, Suk J. Influence of health food literacy on willingness to pay for healthier foods: focus on food insecurity. Int J Equity Health . 2024;23(1):80. Published 2024 Apr 22. doi:10.1186/s12939-024-02135-1 2. Larson N, Laska MN, Neumark-Sztainer D. Food Insecurity, Diet Quality, Home Food Availability, and Health Risk Behaviors Among Emerging Adults: Findings From the EAT 2010-2018 Study. Am J Public Health . 2020;110(9):1422-1428. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2020.305783 3. Khorramrouz F, Doustmohammadian A, Eslami O, et al. Relationship between household food insecurity and food and nutrition literacy among children of 9-12 years of age: a cross-sectional study in a city of Iran. BMC Res Notes . 2020;13(1):433. Published 2020 Sep 15. doi:10.1186/s13104-020-05280-2 4. Begley A, Paynter E, Butcher LM, Dhaliwal SS. Examining the Association between Food Literacy and Food Insecurity. Nutrients . 2019;11(2):445. Published 2019 Feb 20. doi:10.3390/nu11020445

Outcomes assessed: Health goals, dietary habits, and usefulness of the nutritional information card.

Statistical Approach: Descriptive statistical analysis.

2025 Research Recognition Day

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