Food Protection Trends - July/August 2023 - 305

flavored drink crystals, powdered " instant " soups), which
are often high in fat, sugar, and salt (32). Young adults
also report very low ability in planning weekly meals and
infrequent meal preparation (49). They also (mistakenly)
perceive that they have good food safety knowledge and are
unlikely to be at risk of foodborne illness (17); however,
low levels of knowledge and confidence in food safety and
storage have been documented among young adults (4, 41)
and specifically among university students (6, 8, 17, 39).
Qualitative studies that have explored university students'
cooking competencies reported barriers to acquiring food
literacy (7) and barriers to following a healthy diet (31);
however, food safety was not mentioned.
Young adults experience lack of time, money, transportation,
education, experience, and self-confidence when trying
to engage in home food preparation (7, 28, 33). Lack of experience
can be partially explained by the withdrawal of home
economics education from many schools (25, 36), as well as
dramatic decreases in enrollment where it does remain part
of the curriculum (40). In New Zealand, only half of 8,500
secondary school students in a nationally representative survey
reported learning to cook at school (46). Furthermore,
a large Canadian study of university students (n = 3,354)
revealed that parental meal preparation and teen meal preparation
were positively associated with higher food skills when
students were in university; however, few students participated
in food-related activities in their parental home (37).
Cooking confidence has been identified as a core
component of cooking and food skill interventions and
education (30). Empowering individuals to cook, and attain
higher level " food agency, " involves teaching them how to
successfully navigate barriers so that they can set and achieve
food-related goals within the complex physical, economic,
social, cultural, and temporal aspects of food environments
(45, 51). Food agency builds on the concept of basic food
literacy and emphasizes the role of repeated skilled actions
that can be used in the face of changing circumstances
(45, 51). For example, switching from grilling marinated
chicken on an outdoor barbeque (because of inadequate
heat) to sauteing it in a pan on the kitchen stove involves
improvisation and flexibility, skills that are not typically part
of culinary education (45). Overcoming momentary barriers
can be easily navigated by some people (i.e., those who have
food agency); however, similar situations can be problematic
for others (45).
Young women's food skills are of importance because
women are responsible for most food-related tasks (18) and
they self-report better food skills than men (30, 31, 41, 49);
however, that may not translate into women actually being
more skilled than men in food preparation and provisioning.
Furthermore, mothers transfer skills to their children (21,
39); therefore, it is incumbent on educators to take a holistic
approach in understanding young women's food skills,
particularly in those areas where they feel least confident.
The objective of this study was to obtain a deeper understanding
of young women's perceptions of food skills. Key
research questions included asking young women what food
skills meant to them, how they learned food skills, and the
areas in which they were most/and least confident.
MATERALS AND METHODS
This study used a descriptive qualitative design (29).
The research protocol was approved by the Non-Medical
Research Ethics Board at Western University, London,
Ontario, Canada.
Sampling
Young women aged 17 to 30 years enrolled at Western
University or residing in London were purposively recruited
(27) to obtain this population's perceptions of food skills.
Potential participants who self-identified as female were
recruited through posters on campus, as well as at coffee
shops, gyms, recreation centers, and libraries in the broader
community. To facilitate conversations with participants
about their perceptions and lived experiences, all interviews
were conducted by the same individual (MMM), who was
like the participants in age, sex, and educational status.
Face-to-face interviews
A semi-structured interview guide was developed by
the researchers based on a review of the literature, expert
opinion, and previous research with young men (39, 53). It
was piloted with three young women who were not part of
the final sample. Minor revisions were made before the guide
was used in the study. Face-to-face individual interviews
were conducted from January to March 2019 in private study
rooms on campus or in public libraries. Participants signed
a consent form at the beginning of the interview. After the
introductory question, participants were provided with a
one-page summary of the three domains of food skills-food
selection and planning, food preparation, and food safety
and storage-adapted from the Food Skills Questionnaire
developed by Kennedy et al. (19). This provided a consistent
basis for all interviews. Member checking (i.e., periodically
summarizing participants' responses and asking for
confirmation or clarification) was conducted during the
interviews to enhance trustworthiness (26). All interviews
were conducted by a young female graduate student with
experience in leading basic-level food skill workshops. At the
end of the interview, participants were invited to complete a
demographic questionnaire and received a $25.00 gift card
for their participation.
Data analysis
Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim
by the graduate student researcher and three undergraduate
research assistants. Transcripts were independently and
systematically coded line by line by two researchers and
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