This article discusses developments in food packaging, processing, and preservation techniques in terms of packaging materials, technologies, consumer benefits, and current and potential food product applications. Covers implications due to consumer life-style changes, cost-effectiveness of packaging materials, and the ecological impact of…

This article reports that the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI), a widely used measure of colleges' costs, rose by 3.6 percent for the 2008 fiscal year, which ended on June 30. But even as they reported the good news of that moderate increase, experts at the Commonfund Institute who maintain the index noted that broader economic trends could…

Farm to school (FTS) programs have been getting more and more attention these days. FTS programs aim to increase the supply of fresh, locally grown farm products served for meals and snacks in K-12 school environments, and tend to incorporate educational and experiential components designed to increase students' understanding of and engagement…

Following the behavior-analytic tradition of analyzing individual behavior, the present research investigated demand elasticity of individual consumers purchasing supermarket products, and compared individual and group analyses of elasticity. Panel data from 80 UK consumers purchasing 9 product categories (i.e., baked beans, biscuits, breakfast…

The growing evidence of the link between diet and health has not been lost on consumers in the United States. As awareness of the diet-health link has increased through nutrition education, consumers have changed their diets. Although there is still considerable room for improvement in meeting Federal food-guidance recommendations, nutrition…

An overall perspective on trends in food consumption is presented. Nutrition awareness is at an all-time high; consumption is influenced by changes in disposable income, availability of convenience foods, smaller household size, and an increasing proportion of ethnic minorities in the population. (18 references) (LB)

This issue uses tomato processing to illustrate the new directions and opportunities available in the food market. Comparative advantage and economies of scale are discussed in relation to markets. Forecasting success in the market is attributed to studying consumer consumption trends by type and monitoring standards of living in 32 newly…

This consumer education learning activity package is one of a series of six Project SCAT (Skills for Consumer Applied Today) units. It teaches secondary level students about the importance of a balanced diet and what nutrients are most important to good health. The package includes instructions for the teacher, suggestions for activities, lists of…

This curriculum guide was developed for teachers to use in planning and implementing a competency-based high school instructional program in foods and nutrition. It contains materials for a 2-semester course, based on the North Carolina Program of Studies (revised 1992), designed to help students learn about food customs and trends and interpret…

Analysis of research on food, nutrition, and health in the Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences and Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal 1985-2000 (n=172) identified four categories: (1) changes in dietary standards and nutrient requirements; (2) public policy and guidance on nutrition; (3) food behavior and nutrition intervention; and…

This student/teacher resource booklet provides information on conserving food dollars while providing nutritious meals. The guide shows how to set up a food budget and explains how scanning the weekly food ads, planning meals around the specials, and compiling a list accordingly can also help consumers get more for their food dollars. Numerous…

Volunteers priced grocery items twice per month for three months in eight rural Ohio stores, examined advertising flyers, and surveyed stores weekly for a month to track pricing trends. Advice for consumers on choice of stores and items as well as food budgeting was developed based on the results. (SK)

This document presents design concepts and considerations for planning and developing middle and high school family and consumer sciences education facilities. It includes discussions on family and consumer sciences education trends and the facility planning process. Design concepts explore multipurpose laboratories and spaces for food/nutrition…

Childhood obesity is on the rise and there is no indication that the trend is reversing. To reverse this trend, it is critical that children develop and foster healthy eating behaviors and physical activity patterns to help reduce the risk of developing long-term chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and others. One…

This guide is designed to give advanced or upper-level consumer and homemaking education students a chance to take a futuristic look at the roles they will have as consumers in the next years. Divided into 12 units, the first three cover the consumer, the family, and consumer responsibilities. The next eight units are on the goods and services…