Defining food literacy, its components, development and
relationship to food intake : A case study of young people and
disadvantage The purpose of this qualitative study was to
explore food literacy from the perspective of consumers. Given
that these components and how they relate to nutrition is likely
to be highly contextual, the researchers chose to focus on one
specific group as a case study; people aged 16-25 years living
in an urban area who were responsible for feeding themselves.
The researchers were particularly interested in examining the
influence of disadvantage. This study spoke to people across a
spectrum of social exclusion and poverty. In addition to
exploring the concept of food literacy, the study also examined
the development of participants’ food literacy within their
individual contexts. The results were then compared with an
earlier related study of Australian food experts to determine: a
definition for food literacy, identification of its components
and a model for its relationship to n