Food Pantry Nutrition Education about Whole Grains and Self‐Efficacy

The purpose of this quasi‐experimental 4‐week study was to examine the effects of a nutrition‐education intervention on perceptions about increasing whole‐grain food consumption and self‐efficacy in choosing and preparing foods that include whole grains. The theoretical framework was the social cognitive theory. The sample included 205 food pantry clients who participated in the study and 204 food pantry clients who were the control group. The 205 participants tasted a chicken‐and‐whole‐grain pasta dish and then were given the ingredients and invited to prepare the recipe at home. The 204 members of the control group did not receive the intervention. Food pantry clients in the intervention group completed verbal interviews before the intervention and 1 week and 1 month after the intervention. Both perception of whole‐grain consumption and self‐efficacy improved significantly for the intervention group compared with the control group. The results suggest that nutrition education consisting of tasting a food followed by preparing it at home can influence perceptions about eating more whole‐grain foods and self‐efficacy in choosing and preparing foods that include whole grains.