Pilot Development of a Critical Food Safety Message Visual Communication Tool for Farmers’ Market Vendors

Farmers’ markets are popular sources of fresh and ready-to-eat foods for consumers in the United States. However, research indicates that food safety practices of vendors and their employees serve as a concern for customers. This pilot study focused on assessing a visual-based, minimal-text educational tool that was disseminated to farmers’ market vendors and employees (n = 27) in Iowa. The tool was evaluated using a post-intervention survey of vendors’ and employees’ knowledge of food safety practices and their attitudes towards the educational tool. The results did not show a statistically significant increase in attitude and knowledge scores of farmers’ market vendors and employees for participants that reported seeing the food safety tool versus those that did not. However, participants did respond favorably to the food safety tool’s informative content and visual format; many indicated an interest in using the tool in their stalls in the future. The results suggest that farmers’ markets vendors and employees feel favorably towards the use of visual tools in the communication and promotion of safe food handling practices

Assessing and Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic Nutrition and Wellness Impacts on Iowans

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for indirect Extension programming. To ensure a consumer-focused response, we gathered data from 452 survey respondents regarding how the pandemic was affecting their food-related and health behaviors. The majority reported obtaining their food from a grocery store as they had prior to the pandemic, albeit less frequently, and having increased their home food preparation. Due to the pandemic, respondents were less physically active and more stressed and were seeking reliable nutrition and wellness information. We describe how we were able to facilitate an immediate response by repackaging and adapting existing programming to meet pressing client needs, and we identify broader implications of our work

The Journal of Foodservice Management and Education

The purpose of this study was to identify similarities and differences in food safety policies and procedures for student‐led food events in colleges and universities (CUs). Thirty‐seven websites were analyzed using content analysis; food safety policies and gaps in existing food safety policies and procedures for student‐led food events were identify A lack of informaƟon about food safety policies and procedures for student‐led food events was identified. The results of this study will be beneficial for improving food safety information on CUs’ websites and assisting students who prepare for food safety compliance during student‐led food eventsThis article is published as Kang, S., Arendt, S., Naig, A.R., A Content Analysis of Food Safety Policies and Procedures for Studentled Food Events at Colleges and Universities in the United States. The Journal of Foodservice Management and Education. 2020, 14(1);7-14. Posted with permission

Assessing and Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic Nutrition and Wellness Impacts on Iowans

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for indirect Extension programming. To ensure a consumer-focused response, we gathered data from 452 survey respondents regarding how the pandemic was affectingtheir food-related and health behaviors. The majority reported obtaining their food from a grocery store as theyhad prior to the pandemic, albeit less frequently, and having increased their home food preparation. Due to thepandemic, respondents were less physically active and more stressed and were seeking reliable nutrition andwellness information. We describe how we were able to facilitate an immediate response by repackaging andadapting existing programming to meet pressing client needs, and we identify broader implications of our work.This article is published as Bahl, Morgan, Sarah L. Francis, Ruth Litchfield, Shannon Coleman, and Anirudh Naig. "Assessing and Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic Nutrition and Wellness Impacts on Iowans." The Journal of Extension 58, no. 6 (2020): 12. Copyright 2020 Extension Journal, Inc. Posted with permission