VI. Food Assessment Research: University of Minnesota, Morris
By contrast, fewer white students identify barriers to healthy eating. Only cost (58 percent) and stress (57 percent) pose barriers for a majority of white students. Fewer than one in five
white students strongly agree on any of the suggested barriers; 18 percent strongly agree that cost is a barrier and 16 percent strongly agree that stress is a barrier to healthy eating.
Barriers to healthy eating: white students
Some of the barriers cited by fewer respondents show potentially important differences among racial and ethnic populations. More Native students and other students of color report that they do not have access to healthy food choices (38 percent and 36 percent respectively) than white students (31 percent). One out of three (34 percent) American Indian survey respondents indicated that they do not know enough about healthy eating, compared to 21 percent of students from other ethnic groups of color and 14 percent of white students. One in three Native students responded that there were not enough meatless healthy food choices (34 percent), compared to just more than one in four for white students and students from other student of color populations. One in five Native students cited a lack of support from friends and family to eat healthy compared to one in ten for other student populations. No student population identified the quality or taste of healthy foods as a significant barrier. Further investigation is needed to determine how different racial and ethnic populations define healthy eating.
Policy and Environmental Changes to Support Healthy Eating: Key findings—environmental changes supported by racial and ethnic groups • All student groups share support for these top changes to support more healthy eating: making healthy foods, fruits, and vegetables less expensive; offering healthy foods, fruits, and vegetables that I like; and offering more fruits and vegetables at campus gatherings and in menu items. • American Indian students show the highest levels of support for these changes with more than four out of five students supporting each strategy and a majority strongly agreeing. • American Indian students are particularly interested in gardening, with two of three students agreeing that they would eat more fruits and vegetables if they had a garden to grow their own. More than half of those from other student of color populations and 41 percent of white students also see having a garden as a good contributor to healthy eating. • Nearly two-thirds of American Indian survey respondents indicated they would eat healthier on campus if provided with nutrition information, compared to just under half of other students.
MORRIS HEALTHY EATING INITIATIVE
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