Has the pandemic changed our food habits?

 Whether you became an expert sourdough bread baker or a master of perfect Zoom meetings, a few of your newly learned pandemic practises may have crept into your regular routine. I'm sure there are some limits you'd like to get rid of faster than you can say "social distance."

One thing is certain: COVID-19 has influenced many of our food-related decisions, for better or worse. What foods to keep on hand at home, how to shop, and how to get in and out of stores became the focus of our attention very fast. The International Food Information Council in Washington, D.C. conducted its 16th annual Food and Health Survey to assist highlight the changes Americans made in their food, nutrition, and purchasing habits during the last year.

How Have Habits Changed?

It's no wonder that Americans are looking forward to re-emerging and returning to "normalcy," whatever that means to each of us. According to the IFIC poll, 85 percent of consumers reported a change in eating and food preparation as a result of COVID in 2020, but that percentage has plummeted to 72 percent this year.

Many of us anticipate not having to wear a mask when shopping or dining out, not having to worry as much about COVID-19 when grocery shopping, and not having to cook as much at home. We do, however, hope to be able to enjoy worry-free dining in restaurants on a more regular basis. Some parents are eager to resume date evenings, and many of us are looking forward to returning to (or beginning) healthy eating habits.

The overall reasons for why we buy the foods we do haven't changed significantly, according to IFIC: Taste continues to be the most important factor (82%) followed by price (66%), healthfulness (58%), convenience (52%), and environmental sustainability (52%). (31 percent ). Knowing what you're buying is important (68 percent), especially at a time when so much is uncertain and comfort in any form is desired.

Meal Preparation and Cooking

Although I have spent the past 30 years pushing families to eat together at the table, it took a pandemic to make this happen on a regular basis, albeit not always voluntarily. However, as we grow older, family meals have become less common.

“Last year, 60 percent of Americans cooked at home,” says Ali Webster, head of research and nutrition communications at IFIC. “Now, we see that percentage drop down below 50 percent.”

Kitchen creativity waned as culinary exhaustion and the rigours of running a household, homeschooling, and holding down a career set in. Although unrealistic, I hope that individuals who had before rarely cooked at home have gained cooking confidence and will continue to connect at the table at least a few times a week.

The 2020 State of the Plate: America's Fruit & Vegetable Intake Trends study by Produce for Better Health found that fruit and vegetable consumption rises with the frequency of family meals, but the news isn't as promising as we might anticipate. Fruit and vegetable consumption in the United States continues to decline over time.

PBH's president and CEO, Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, invites us to take action now to reverse this negative trend, which she refers to as a "fruit and vegetable consumption crisis in our country." I had hoped that pandemic panic shopping would encourage people to buy more produce in all forms, including frozen, canned, and dried fruits and vegetables, but everyone, regardless of age, needs to work on making these foods a regular part of their diet.

Habits of Snacking

Working from home reduced the need to go to a vending machine or a food truck to get a snack. Instead, the majority of us were within reach of our kitchen worktops or cabinets. In the spring of 2020, one-third of Americans reported snacking more than usual, whether it was due to hunger, thirst, or a need for sweets or salt. Only 18% of people believe this is still true.

Since 2020, the frequency with which we snack has been stable, with 58 percent of us munching at least once a day and 25% of us snacking numerous times a day.

And when is the most likely time for a snack attack? Late afternoon (3 p.m. to 5 p.m.) and late evening are the most popular periods for Americans to snack (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.).

Shopping for food

Despite the fact that I enjoy going grocery shopping — and yes, I do sing along to the music playing as I walk down the aisles — I count myself among those who relied on online food purchasing during quarantine. I'm glad to be back in supermarkets these days, but it appears that 42% of Americans now purchase for food online at least monthly, up from 33% in 2020 and 27% in 2019. Furthermore, 20% of people purchase online at least once a week (vs. 11 percent in 2020 and 13 percent in 2019).

Younger shoppers, African Americans, and parents, in particular, are more likely to shop for groceries online than others. Overall, individuals appear to be less concerned about exposure from farmers and food manufacturers that create the food they buy, but 28% still are. Even if more of us are returning to schlepping from stores, some of us will continue to shop online for some necessities while supplementing with shorter in-person visits.

COVID made no significant modifications to the way people read nutrition labels on items. When grocery shopping, about half of us always or often pay attention to food labels, whether online or in person, implying that the other half of us aren't reading about what we're consuming.

It's unsurprising that more people read labels when shopping in stores (52% vs. 46% online), but the number of shoppers is still small when compared to the volume of information that a food item may supply. According to the IFIC poll, 60% of those in excellent/very good health constantly or frequently read food labels, which could explain why they are in better shape.

Dieting and Weight Loss

In the previous year, the number of people who indicated they followed a diet didn't change much, with four out of ten people stating they did. Calorie counting has unexpectedly become a popular diet trend in 2021. Although the calories on a label appear to be the most important figure on the box, most people are unaware of how many calories they require for the day, and the focus on calories frequently overshadows the food's nutritional worth.

Although fewer people are dieting to reduce weight in 2020, IFIC found that there is still a desire to improve physical appearance - at least while we're still on Zoom calls! One in every four people says they eat more plant-based protein than they did a year ago, but as previously said, we are still far from consuming the amount of vegetables we require each day.

What the Future Has in Store?

Whether it's a pandemic or not, we can be sure that Americans are hungry for more information about the foods they're buying, including where their food comes from, how it's grown, what it's packaged with, and how the ingredients will affect their health and well-being.

According to the IFIC study, more than four out of ten people believe that their personal food and beverage choices have an impact on the environment. Let's hope we all learned something from this past year to help us move forward and improve our lives in the absence of a pandemic.