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This study aims to understand client food preferences and how pantry offerings can be optimized by those preferences.

This study develops and administers customized surveys to study three food pantries within the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwestern North Carolina network. This study then categorizes food items by client preferences, identifies the key predictors of those preferences and obtains preference scores by fitting the data to a predictive model. The preference scores are subsequently used in an optimization model that suggests an ideal mix of food items to stock based upon client preferences and the item and weight limits imposed by the pantry.

This study found that food pantry clients prefer fresh and frozen foods over shelf-friendly options and that gender, age and religion were the primary predictors. The optimization model incorporates these preferences, yielding an optimal stocking strategy for the pantry.

This research is based on a specific food bank network, and therefore, the client preferences may not be generalizable to other food banks. However, the framework and corresponding optimization model is generalizable to other food aid supply chains.

This study provides insights for food pantry managers to make informed decisions about stocking the pantry shelves based on the client’s preferences.

An emerging topic within the humanitarian food aid community is better matching of food availability with food that is desired in a way that minimizes food waste. This is achieved by providing more choice to food pantry users. This work shows how pantries can incorporate client preferences in inventory stocking decisions.

This study contributes to the literature on food pantry operations by providing a novel decision support system for pantry managers to aid in stocking their shelves according to client preferences.

Food service establishments and online food delivery companies use a revenue share model based on a commission rate. Because of the asymmetry of bargaining power, many food service establishments are vulnerable to a high commission rate. What is missing in the ongoing discussion about the revenue share model is the perspective of food consumers, who are the third party in the multi-sided market.

Within a willingness-to-pay (WTP) framework, we study if food consumers have preferences for the commission rate charged by food delivery companies to food service establishments. With 456 random consumers in the United States, we conduct a controlled experiment in which information is used as treatment in two groups. In the first group, the provided information only relates to the revenue share model (i.e. economic). In the second group, participants also received information about price control initiatives (i.e. economic and political).

Based on WTP-space mixed logit model results, there is a significant effect of information on preferences for the commission rate. While participants in the control group exhibited no aversion to the commission rate, participants who received treatment had a significant and negative WTP. The magnitude of the effect is estimated at -$1.08 for participants in the first treatment and -$2.28 for participants in the second treatment.

To date there is no applied research on the preferences of consumers in the online food order and delivery industry with respect to upstream conditions (i.e. commission rates).

This study aims to reveal the food preferences and to define the typology of digital nomads as gastro-tourists. In this context, it is aimed to provide information on issues such as the importance of food culture in destination selection for digital nomads, food prices, local dishes, local food markets, religious restrictions, researching cultural cuisines, preparing meals and participating in gastronomic events.

Multiple qualitative methods were utilized in the research for this study. Digital nomads' comments, videos and semi-structured interviews constitute the data sources of the research, and the data obtained were analyzed by content analysis.

As a result of the study, it was seen that digital nomads do consider gastronomy in their destination selection, and five different gastro-tourist profiles were determined. These are Local Flavor Hunters, Gastronomy Adventurers, Budget-Conscious Food Lovers, Cultural Explorers and Health and Sustainability Focused People.

The theoretical contribution of the study is to provide information with regard to the food and beverage preferences of digital nomads and to contribute to filling a gap in the literature. The practical contribution of the study is to help formulate tourism marketing strategies in the destination and strategies for businesses in the tourism industry. Since digital nomads play important roles in destination promotion, it is important to determine their perspectives and typologies towards gastronomy. The results of the study will be useful for tourism industry components, such as academics, experts, travel businesses, tourism destinations and local food producers who research the tourism industry and travel trends.

This study aims to determine the extent to which consumers perceive food-related information to be tied to the intrinsic characteristics of food, particularly safety.

The authors examined Japanese consumers’ preferences regarding domestic or foreign perishables, as well as how they interpret origin information, focusing on their perceptions of safety using descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression analysis.

The results indicated that a high proportion of Japanese consumers considered domestic foods to be safer; in particular, people affected by food safety information obtained through personal communication, books and magazines tended to choose domestically produced perishables rather than imported ones.

The belief that domestic foods are safer than imported ones was highly universal among Japanese consumers, although this belief is not necessarily grounded in scientific evidence. When considering strategies to improve consumers’ information literacy, factors that have fostered this belief must be discussed. For consumers to make logical food choices, both food businesses and consumers require scientific and informational literacy and policy support.

This exploratory study aims to integrate both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the influence of contemporary university dining attributes and practices on student patronage.

First, a review of the extant literature on-campus dining in universities was conducted. Second, innovative practices of on-campus dining facilities of a large public university were identified. Finally, student perceptions of those practices were examined using a mixed method approach.

The review of literature uncovered 49 articles across 35 years on key topics such as food waste, healthy eating, and service evaluation. From site tours and interviews with related personnel, 40 innovative on-campus dining practices were identified.

Importance ratings revealed cleanliness of the environment, fresh fruit and vegetables, and digitally enabled ordering, as the top three highest rated practices. Factor analysis unveiled six factors that students find important: food diversity, good standards, innovativeness, quick options, menu variety, and fish and seafood. The thematic analysis further revealed four overarching themes (convenience, familiarity, food offerings, and value) and 13 subthemes which complemented the quantitative results.

In addition to shedding post-pandemic light on students’ dining needs, it highlights the paucity of theory used to support extant studies and suggests a novel theoretical underpinning.

Indigenous knowledge is an essential element for unveiling the evolutionary journey of socio-culture phenomena. One of the key challenges in foresight exercises is to incorporate social-culture issues such as culture, lifestyle and behavior (referred as indigenous knowledge) into the study. However, the statistical trends of those factors tend to be either not available or limited unlike the population or economic related factors. The purpose of this study is to present the use of valuable data from indigenous knowledge to enhance the foresight exercise through the better understanding of social dynamics and changes.

The fragmented form of indigenous knowledge is analyzed and converted into a structured data format and then interpreted to unveil the evolutionary journey of socio-cultural phenomena. This study applies a scenario development method to visualize the results of foresight by comparing before and after the integration of indigenous knowledge. Finally, an assessment was conducted to reflect the value enhancement resulting from the integration of indigenous knowledge into the foresight process.

With the proposed approach, the foresight study on the future development of Thai food was demonstrated. The findings of this study show that the use of indigenous knowledge on eating behavior, cooking style and food flavor helps improve the alternative scenarios for the future development of Thai foods.

Indigenous knowledge can be applied to develop plausible scenarios and future images in foresight exercises. However, by nature, indigenous knowledge is not well-structured and, therefore, needs to be analyzed and turned into structured data so that it can be interpreted before integrating into the foresight process.

This study is one of few studies addressing the opportunities for integrating indigenous knowledge into foresight process. Indigenous knowledge can unveil the evolution of socio-cultural changes to improve the results of foresight study, especially the cases where statistical data and trends may not be sufficient to foresee future development.

This study aims to assess dietary choices of pregnant women and its relationship with their anaemia status.

A mixed-method study comprising a survey and three focus group discussions (FGDs). The survey included 380 adult pregnant women with data collected on food choices, preferences and haemoglobin (Hb) status.

More than 50% of women in the study had Hb concentration < 11.0 g/dl; mean Hb was 10.24 g/dl (SD = 1.59). Univariate analysis was used to generate descriptive tabulations for socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, dietary choices for women and anaemia status. T-test and bivariate analysis between dietary diversity score of the women among the food groups consumed as well as their anaemia (Hb) status. This showed that women with high dietary diversity score had improved Hb status (P = 0.003), and those who consumed meat and fish as well as dark leafy vegetables had significantly high diversity scores (P = 0.031 and P = 0.049). Thematic analysis was used for analysing qualitative data.

The sample used in the study is unlikely to be fully representative of pregnant women in the Accra Metropolis. In addition, this study used a cross-sectional study design, making it difficult to establish causal associations between nutritional status and food choice of pregnant women. It does not also show variation in dietary practices by seasons of the year. The scope of the study did not allow for a detailed analysis, and this should be considered in future studies. Also, the study did not explore an obstetric factor like past bleeding history as well as the menstrual cycle of these pregnant women, as these factors are likely to interfere with the anaemia status of the pregnant women.

This paper contributes significant value by specifically focusing on and clarifying the complex relationship between dietary choices and aneamia among pregnant women. It also provides insights into the distinct dietary patterns and preferences of pregnant women, which may be contributing to the high prevalence of aneamia. The results of the study can inform the development of localized, evidence-based interventions to address this critical public health concern, ultimately leading to improved maternal and foetal health outcomes.

The shape of a product plays a crucial role in shaping consumer behavior. Despite the voluminous research on factors influencing consumers’ shape preferences, there remains a limited understanding of how the busy mindset, a mentality increasingly emphasized by marketing campaigns, works. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the relationship between a busy mindset and the preference for angular-shaped versus circular-shaped products and brand logos.

This research consists of seven experimental studies using various shape stimuli, distinct manipulations of busy mindset, different assessments of shape preference and samples drawn from multiple countries.

The findings reveal that a busy mindset leads to a preference for angular shapes over circular ones by amplifying the need for uniqueness. In addition, these effects are attenuated when products are scarce.

This research represents one of the pioneering efforts to study the role of a busy mindset on consumers’ aesthetic preferences. Beyond yielding insights for practitioners into visual marketing, this research contributes to the theories on the busy mindset and shape preference.

This study sought to understand which food allergen labeling systems (non-directive, semi-directive, and directive) were attended to and preferred by 34 participants with food hypersensitivity and their perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) and behavioral intention towards a restaurant that identifies food allergens on menus.

This study used an online survey with open-ended and ranking questions, combined with eye-tracking technology, to explore participants' visual attention and design preferences regarding four menus. This study utilized one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA) and heat maps to analyze participants' menu-reading behaviors. A content analysis of survey responses and a ranking analysis of menus were conducted to understand the reasons behind consumers' preferred menu designs.

The advisory statement was not much attended to. Participants identified food allergen information significantly quicker with the directive labeling system (icons) than the other two systems, implying they were eye-catching. Semi-directive labeling system (red text) has lower visit count and was more preferred than two other systems; each labeling system has its strengths and limitations. Participants viewed restaurants that disclosed food allergen information on menus as socially responsible, and they would revisit those restaurants in the future.

This study was one of the first to explore, through use of eye-tracking technology, which food allergen labeling systems were attended to by consumers with food hypersensitivity. The use of triangulation methods strengthened the credibility of the results. The study provided empirical data to restauranteurs in the US on the values of food allergen identification on restaurant menus, although it is voluntary.

This study aims to investigate the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on consumers' evaluation of blockchain-based traceability information. It also examined how the use of quick response (QR) codes for traceability affects consumers' evaluation of traceable food products.

An online choice experiment was conducted to determine consumers' evaluation of the blockchain-based traceability of Feta cheese with a quota sample of 715 Greek consumers. Pearson bivariate correlation and mean comparison were used to examine the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and QR use behaviour. Random parameter logit models were employed to examine consumers’ valuation of the examined attributes and interaction terms.

The results show that ethnocentric consumers are willing to pay more for blockchain-based traceability information. Ethnocentric consumers tend to scan QR codes with traceability information. Spending more time reading traceability information embedded in QR codes does not lead to a higher willingness-to-pay (WTP) for traceable food products.

The findings suggest that patriotic marketing messages can draw consumers' attention to blockchain-based traceability information. The modest WTP for and low familiarity with blockchain-based traceability systems raise the need for educating consumers regarding the benefits of blockchain in traceability systems.

This is the first study to provide timely empirical evidence of a positive WTP for blockchain-based traceability information for a processed dairy product. This study is the first to attempt to distinguish the effects of the intention to scan QR codes and reading information embedded in QR codes on consumers’ valuation of food attributes.