UNC CHARLOTTE FOOD

RESOURCES
1.

PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

The main goal of this project is to better understand UNC Charlotte

students choices and to see how the students utilizes the food
resources on campus and how the students may be persuaded by the
food resources on campus. For example some of the food resources on
campus are the campus dining halls. These would include South Village
Dining Hall (SOVI) and Crown Commons Dining Hall. Other food
resources on campus would include Prospector which has a pizza place,
a deli, and Chick- Fil- A. The other resources on campus are the
vending machines which can be found in almost any building. By
looking further into detail at the food resources on campus, we will be
handing out surveys through email, hardcopy, and on the phone to
better understand how students eat on campus. Do the food resources
offered on campus limit the student of his or her meal? Are the foods
eaten healthy? In other words, are the choices students make to eat a

meal persuaded by the UNC Charlotte campus? We will be conducting

a study of only the students that go to UNC Charlotte.

2.

GROUP PROJECT

As a group of Erin, Vickie, Rachel, Philip, Kathleen, and Kaela, we

addressed the questions above in a collaborative manner. Working as a
group enabled us to bring a lot of different perspectives and ideas into
our project. We also were able to split up the work-load so that we
could efficiently collect our research in a timely fashion. Combining all
of our group members work, experiences, research, data, and unique
perspectives allowed us to have a well-rounded outcome within our
project.

3.

ENROLLMENT INFORMATION

Number of Participants (Expected)

Number of Males & Females (Expected)
Number of Minority Participants (Expected)
Age of the Participants (Expected)

4.

PARTICIPANTS STATUS

__Freshmen

5.

40
40
25
18-22

__Sophomore

__Junior

__Senior

DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY

This study is intended to be a quantitative investigation of how

students utilize the food resources available to them based on their
living conditions and means of transportation as well as other factors.
The information will be gathered through the use of a survey
addressing a number of factors. Information gathered will then be
compiled and analyzed allowing us to see the commonalities in how
the students at UNCC eat based on living conditions and access.

6.

DURATION OF THE STUDY

This study will be conducted over the course of two months (MarchApril, 2015)
Individual subjects will be observed during the standard time for each
meal. For example, students getting breakfast between the times of
9:15-10: AM. Furthermore, students will be asked to participate during
the typical lunch time of 11:30-1 PM and dinner time from 5:30-7:30
PM. Interviews and surveys will be completed every day at three
different locations Monday-Friday during these typical eating periods.

7.

THE LOCATION OF THE STUDY

The individual subjects will be studied at the UNC Charlotte campus

across various food resources including:
South Village Dining Hall (SOVI)
Crown Commons
Prospector

8.

STUDY PROCEDURES

All of the topics discussed thus far will be studied through surveys
online and in person, personal interviews, observation of the UNCC
campus, and online research of other schools and campuses, and
general statistics. What students are forced to eat now and the
influence that is being impressed on them to make their choices will
affect the rest of their lives. Do schools really care about their students
or are they just looking for money and the cheapest deal? Is there a
compromise in all of this?
This is a study of various methods such as, surveys, interviews,
and research of facts and statistics that will be conducted for collecting
information regarding the food life and environment of college
students. This study is being performed due to the concern for the
limited food choices for college students, the push for unhealthy food
choices because food/drink companies give money to the college if
they promote their product, and the overall concern for health of
students. This is an overall five-week process requiring a group of five

people to collect the data. All of the group members inputs, research,
and overall knowledge will be in combined efforts to complete the final
analysis of the study.

9.

BENEFITS TO THE SUBJECTS

The subjects will better understand his or her campus resources along
with the consumption of his or her daily eating habits. The subject will
also become more familiar with the UNC Charlotte campus food
resources. Students will have a better awareness of their dietary
surroundings and be able to make better, more informed decisions
through the knowledge attained in this project.

10.

PARTICIPATION

All subjects will be volunteers and no subject will be singled out. This
study is based on local UNC Charlotte volunteers that use the
resources on campus. There will be no costs to the participation of
these subjects.

11.

DATA AND ANALYSIS

All members of our group will be conducting this survey. The data we
receive, once evaluated, will show us if students cook, verses picking
up fast food, and it will show us where students primarily access their
food. We will also see how accessible a kitchen is too many students,
and how that plays a role in their eating habits.

12.

METHODS OF RECRUITMENT

All group members will participate in walk-up surveys with

students on campus near designated locations (Prospector,
Student Union, etc.).
We will be using the cell phone app Survey Monkey to digitally
record our data that we collect from our participants. The app will
allow us to work more efficiently and more effectively without the
use for printing out hard copies of survey questionnaires.
All students who are surveyed must be 18+

13.

METHODS OF INFORMED CONSENT

The full description of the study will be covered at the beginning of the
survey. Such that participants must be:
Attending UNCC
If the participant is non-English, than the survey must be
translated to meet his or her understanding.
Participants names will not be revealed.
Results will be gathered and put into a data analysis.