Investigating the Feasibility of a Restaurant Delivery Service to Improve Food Security among College Students Experiencing Marginal Food Security, a Head-to-Head Trial with Grocery Store Gift Cards

Abstract

Restaurant delivery services have gained in popularity among college students; however, students participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are not allowed to redeem their benefits via restaurant delivery services. This mixed-methods head-to-head crossover trial assessed whether college students experiencing marginal food security prefer benefits via a grocery store gift card (as a proxy for traditional SNAP benefits) or via a restaurant delivery service gift card of equivalent value, and which type of benefit is more effective at improving food security status. Thirty college students experiencing marginal food security were recruited to receive $80 in cash equivalent benefits to spend over a two-month period in the form of grocery store gift cards and restaurant delivery service gift cards. Participants completed surveys and interviews to measure their food security status and share their experiences with each benefit type. After four months of benefits, 48.3% of participants improved their food security status. However, neither type of benefit was statistically better at improving food security status. Most participants preferred grocery store benefits (89.7%) over restaurant delivery service benefits (10.3%). However, more research is needed to explore whether allowing SNAP recipients to redeem their benefits with restaurant delivery services is a viable mechanism to address food challenges among college students experiencing marginal food security.

Knowledge into the Practice against COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study from Ghana

“…Furthermore, investigating and addressing psychological factors on the attitudinal level, such as stigma, self-efficacy, group-efficacy, perceived severity of disease, and perceived barriers could also explain the discrepancy between knowledge on the one side and individual attitude and adeptness to follow the preventive measures and vaccination on the other [ 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Several such structural factors, belonging to different settings and contexts have been addressed as part of this special issue, Reducing Health Inequities: Social Epidemiology Insights for Public Health and Social Policy [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ].…”

Advancing college food security: priority research gaps

“…Some students are able to take advantage of community-based transportation programmes, if they exist; however, uptake may be low due to the time required to take a bus from campus to the supermarket (22,23,27) . Other students may rely on rides from other students, car-pooling or delivery services (28)(29)(30) .…”