Date of Award

5-1964

Degree Type

Report

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences

Committee Chair(s)

Ethelwyn B. Wilcox

Committee

Ethelwyn B. Wilcox

Abstract

The various activities associated with the provision of food for feeding of the family traditionally have been functions of the home . One of the major enterprises of the homemaker in past years was to plan , produce or purchase , preserve , and prepare food daily for the family. The role of the homemaker today has changed from one of producer to one of purchaser. Hence, at least weekly, the selection of food at the market place involves not only the best use of her time but wise expenditure of her food budget. The market is changing so rapidly that each year hundreds of new items are added to the grocery shelves. Lay-outs in stores, new packaging and prepackaging, added self-service, methods of check-out, increased size of stores, and the addition of non-food items have all had a tremendous effect upon the homemaker and her food budget. The increase in the availability of food with built-in conveniences presents the homemaker with decisions to be made that were unheard of one generation ago . Never before has the homemaker had such a great array of convenience, variety , nutrition, and glamour to choose from. Today's consumer has a three-way choice and she may use one or all of the three ways as she desires. She may serve home-prepared foods if her time permits , or supplement part of her home-prepared meals with a few mixes, or rely entirely on the convenience foods if her time is limited. The many new and wonderful forms of foods that are available have greatly lightened the physical labor of the homemaker, but they have increased the mental work. The homemaker is confronted with many decisions regarding food value, money value, and time management. Is it wiser to spend her money for these so-called convenient foods which are ready to serve or partially prepared so that more of her time is freed for other family duties? Each individual home-maker has to answer this question for herself and her family. Studies on differences in cost and nutritive value of certain convenience foods have not kept pace with the rapid increase in the number and kind of these convenience foods. A recent study giving average prices which was representative for the United States has been reported by Shays and Durham, 1963. Additional information on what is available in Utah grocery stores and on the effect of buiit-in convenience on cost is needed. The purpose of this study was to determine the purchaser, cost and nutritive value of specific convenience foods. The study includes a survey of two super markets and a neighborhood grocery store in the Logan, Utah, area to check on the convenience foods purchased.

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