Korean Journal of Community Nutrition

Original Articles

[English]
Operation and Process Evaluation of a Community Meal Program for the Elderly in Rural Areas during Agricultural Off-Season Perceived by Cooking Volunteers: Jeong Sook Bae, Sol Bee Seong, So Mang Jang, Chang Hee Yoo, Young Suk Lim, Young Mi Lee, Hae Ryun Park, Kyung Eun Lee; Korean J Community Nutr 2019;24(4):277-289. Published online August 31, 2019; DOI: https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2019.24.4.277

OBJECTIVES
This study examined the practices of a community meal program for older adults in rural areas during the agricultural off-season.
METHODS
A survey was conducted from December 12 to December 22, 2016. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 150 cooking volunteers, who had participated in the community meal program in 50 villages. A total of 114 responses were returned from 44 villages and used for data analysis. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with the volunteers of eight villages.
RESULTS
Most of the cooking volunteers were 50 years old or older and they participated in serving older adults meals for good will. The cooking volunteers perceived that the older adults in their community did not eat various foods, had difficulties in grocery shopping, and frequently consumed salty foods. During the agricultural off-season, 40.9% of villages served the older adults meals 6â€“7 days a week and 95.5% provided meals for lunch. An average of 21 to 40 older adults were served meals in each village. The cooking volunteers reported that the food preparation and meal service times were sufficient, recipes provided were useful, and menus met the preference of the older adults. At the end of the program, they felt proud of serving meals for older adults in the community. An increased awareness of healthy eating, interest in health, and consumption of nutritious meals, a decrease in loneliness among older adults, and the promotion of fellowship in the community were rated highly. The cooking volunteers expected additional support for cooking personnel and insisted that the program should be provided for the entire agricultural off-seasons.
CONCLUSIONS
The community meal program during the agricultural off-season for the elderly in rural areas was effective in improving the dietary life of older adults, relieving their feelings of isolation, and promoting fellowship of the community. The volunteers felt workload due to a shortage of volunteers but answered that they were rewarded by helping older adults in their community.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

An Interactive Live and Online Cooking Program for Children in Vulnerable Families—An Exploratory Study
Jiyoung Park, Sein Hwang, Seolhyang Baek, Gill A. Ten Hoor
Healthcare.2022; 10(12): 2389. CrossRef
Disparities in dietary quantity and quality between the two different types of Korean family of older adults living with spouses and living alone: using data from the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Yu Rim Choi, Hae Ryun Park, Kyung Hee Song, Youngmi Lee, Young Suk Lim
Nutrition Research and Practice.2020; 14(3): 242. CrossRef
Patient-centered counseling program using health coaching to promote self-care among elderly hypertension patients in the rural area of South Korea
HeyJean Lee, Jung Min Kim, Ji Young Moon
Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion.2020; 37(2): 99. CrossRef

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[English]
Differences in Characteristics and Dietary Habits between Volunteers and Selected Subjects in Nutrition Survey: Wan Soo Kim, Mi Jung Kim, Taisun Hyun; Korean J Community Nutr 2004;9(4):511-518. Published online August 31, 2004

Abstract PDF: This study was designed to compare general characteristics and dietary habits between volunteers for a nutrition survey and non-volunteers using a questionnaire. Volunteers were recruited by advertising on the homepage of a university to assess nutritional status by examining dietary intake for three days and blood analysis. Non-volunteers were selected from some classes not related to nutrition. There were no significant differences in sex, monthly allowances, eating-out cost, drinking and exercise between the two groups, while the proportion of self-boarding was higher in the volunteer group than in the non-volunteer group, and smoking rate of volunteers was approximately 2.4 times lower than that of non-volunteers. Volunteers were less concerned about their diet than non-volunteers. No significant differences in concern about health, considering factors in their diet, self-evaluation of their diet, learning experience about nutrition, and vitamin/mineral supplement use were observed. The frequency and the place of eating-out for dinner were significantly different between the two groups. More proportions of volunteers tended to eat regularly and eat breakfast. Volunteers consumed seaweeds more frequently, and milk, fruits and fast foods less frequently than nonvolunteers. Our results indicate that some characteristics and dietary habits of volunteers are different from those of non-volunteers. However, we could not show that volunteers were more interested in their diet and had desirable dietary habits than non-volunteers. Further research on the characteristics of volunteers who participate in nutrition survey may be helpful to interpret and generalize the survey results.

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