Meal box schemes a convenient way to avoid convenience food? Uses and understandings of meal box schemes among Danish consumers.

Frej Daniel Hertz, Bente Halkier
Author Information
  1. Frej Daniel Hertz: Department of Communication and Arts (DCA), Roskilde University, Office Location: 40.03.06, Aboretvej 1, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark. Electronic address: fdhertz@ruc.dk.
  2. Bente Halkier: Department of Communication and Arts (DCA), Roskilde University, Office Location: 40.03.06, Aboretvej 1, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark. Electronic address: beh@soc.ku.dk.

Abstract

The term convenience food is subject to diversification, lack of clarity and moral ambiguity. In this paper we address these issues and critically discuss convenience food by using empirical findings from a Danish study that deals with practitioners' uses of meal box schemes. The methodological design consists of thirteen individual interviews, four focus groups and some observations of cooking practices. We combine the empirical findings with a particular definition of convenience food by Brunner et al. (2010) and selected practice theoretical concepts. This particular combination enables us to categorize meal box schemes as a new form of convenience food called convenient food. In addition, results suggest that meal box schemes reduce leftovers from dinner. Meal boxes also influence dinner related activities such as planning ahead in time and grocery shopping, which require less physical and mental effort.

Keywords

MeSH Term

Activities of Daily Living
Adult
Consumer Behavior
Cooking
Denmark
Diet, Healthy
Family
Fast Foods
Feeding Behavior
Feeding Methods
Female
Focus Groups
Food Preferences
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Male
Meals
Patient Compliance
Qualitative Research
Terminology as Topic

Word Cloud

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