Preference for Food Categories and Items that are Served as Refreshment during Meetings: A Case Study among Academics in the University of Ruhuna

Abstract

Refreshments served during meetings contributes to make meetings productive and focused. However, health and nutritional status of the participants may be affected positively or negatively, depending on the nature of the items served. The objective of the present study was to analyze academics’ preferences for food categories and items served at meetings. Along with demographic variables, preference for common food categories and items served during the meetings were recorded using a Google form circulated among academics of the University of Ruhuna. The percentages of academics who identified themselves as non-vegetarians and vegetarians were 87% and 8%, respectively. An academic of the University claimed to attend an average of 6.4 physical and 5.7 on-line meetings per month. Thirty eight percent of the physical meetings had been served with refreshments comprising “something to eat and a drink”. In 27% of the meetings only a drink had been served. A majority of the respondents (72%) viewed that the decision to serve refreshments during a meeting should depend on circumstance, while 26% of the respondents stated that refreshments need to be served at all meetings. Only 2.7% of the respondents opted not to have refreshments during meetings. Even for a meeting that lasts less than an hour, around 30% of the respondents expected refreshments; at least a plain tea or milk-tea. When meeting lasts for 1-2 hours, almost two thirds of respondents wanted at least a plain tea or milk-tea while another 18% wished to have something to eat + drink. When a meeting duration was of 2-3 hours, more than 60% expected something to eat with a drink. A half of the respondents expected an extra serving when a meeting extends for 4-5 hours. High-salt+carb-rich savory biscuits, high- sugar items such as cakes and biscuits and fried items were not accepted by 37, 34 and 15% of the respondents, respectively. Meanwhile, more than 90% of respondents prefer water, tea or coffee, fruits, backed starchy items and nuts to be served. The most accepted fruit was banana, followed by grapes and apple. Among the dairy food items, yoghurt and cheese topped the list. Among starchy items, sandwich and vegetable rotti topped the list. Cutlet and dhal wadei were the most preferred fried item. Interestingly, 5% of the academics said that they do not consume dairy products. Eggs, fish, dairy and chicken and dairy products were accepted by as high as 96%, 95, 95% and 83% of academics, respectively. The study showed that the academics, in general, are concerned about their health and make nutritionally-concerned preference for food items that are to be served during meetings. Considering the academics choices and general nutritional guidelines, this paper proposes a few sample menus suitable to be served at meetings of different length durations.