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The challenge of healthy eating on campus.
A recent study published by the journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior shows that the average college student is failing to even eat one serving of fruits/vegetables a day (Massa, 2013). With the recommended serving of fruit/vegetables being at 4 to 5 servings a day, this shows the average college student is living a very unhealthy lifestyle. In addition campus's can partly be held to blame for this unhealthy behavior. Right now most colleges view meal services as a source of revenue more than a way to have keep students healthy (Massa, 2013). Processed food is much cheaper than fruits/vegetables for campuses to provide so ultimately you see less variety in fruits/vegetables on a campus and more unhealthy snack foods. Although it has been a little more expensive, The City University of New York has proven it possible to run a healthy meal plan. By taking many surveys CUNY has been able to find out what healthy foods students and faculty like and been able to create enough demand to still make a profit. CUNY has already taken the first step and as the demand for healthier campuses grows, Other colleges now have a blueprint of how to successfully change their campus eating.

Information from this article can be very helpful in proving our point that UNCW needs to change to a healthier service. It shows how unhealthy students are living and emphasizes that the only reason colleges have meal services is to make a profit. In addition it shows that colleges can achieve the best of both worlds by providing students with healthier eating options and still turn a profit.

Healthfulness of the Food Environment on/near a University Campus

In other research studies it showed that the overall food environment by campuses was not up to reasonable standards of healthy eating. In the study at Rutgers University they 20 percent of of local restaurants including 4 fast- casual, 11 fast food, and 17 sit down  vs. the 4 dining halls on campus. Results actually were in favor of the dining halls making points that the off campus restaurants gave better incentives to eat the unhealthier food and little awareness about benefits of healthy diets, but very minimally (Quick, Weiner, Shu, Kosz, Byrd-Bredbenner, 2011).

This article helps include into support our research in general just because it shows that the system as a whole around campus's is to just serve students whatever they can make the most profit on no matter how it affects of the students eating it. The article does state that on campus meals provide healthier food choices in some areas comparatively but this is still minimal and needs much improvement.

Development and evaluation of a university campus-based food safety media campaign for young adults.In this article the authors addresses the need for a more effective movement towards educating our youth on making better health decisions. They go on to explain that for a healthier food campaign to truly become more successful we need to do a better a job of tailoring the message to our specific target audience. "Designing effective campaigns involves careful study of the target population and working with them using a community-based participatory research model" (abbot et al., 2012). Through their research  they were able to find that food education information resonated much more effectively when it was uniquely tailored to specific cultures in different colleges.

This article is great to support our overall research for many reasons. First it gives it gives proof that through providing information to students you can help them change their dietary habits. In addition it makes a very valid point that in order to make a change that is receptive to students, administrators must know their student body and figure out way to educate them about health in a way that resonates through the student body. With this knowledge it helps prove that it is a possible feat for college campus's to make their campus's healthier.


                                                                        References 

Abbot, J. M., Policastro, P., Bruhn, C., Schaffner, D. W., & Byrd-Bredbenner, C. (January 01, 2012). Development and evaluation of a university campus-based food safety media campaign for young adults. Journal of Food Protection, 75, 6, 1117-24.
 
Massa, A. (2012, July 13). Food for thought: The challenge of healthy eating on campus. Retrieved February 23, 2015, from http://college.usatoday.com/2012/07/13/food-for-thought-the-challenge-of-healthy-eating-on-campus


V. Quick, A. Weiner, E. Shu, M. Kosz, C. Byrd-Bredbenner, Healthfulness of the Food Environment on/near a University Campus, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 111, Issue 9, Supplement, September 2011, Page A69, ISSN 0002-8223, http://0-dx.doi.org.libcat.uncw.edu/10.1016/j.jada.2011.06.256. (http://0-www.sciencedirect.com.libcat.uncw.edu/science/article/pii/S0002822311009667)