Improving Food Security in Medical Students Using a Cooking Program

ABSTRACT

Food insecurity has not been assessed in medical students. This pilot study assessed food insecurity in medical students and used a cooking program of plant-based recipes that included olive oil to see if food security could be improved by program participation. Fifty-four students completed the 16 week program. At baseline, 37% reported food insecurity (mean score 2.6 ± 1.6), with an improvement at the two month follow-up (mean score 1.7 ± 1.9; p = .02). Identifying medical students who are food insecure early in medical school and providing programs to decrease food insecurity may help to improve the overall well-being of medical students.

KEYWORDS:

• Food insecurity
• medical students
• plant-based
• olive oil recipes

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Baxt Family Resiliency Fund.