Young Consumers’ Concerns About Meeting Their Food Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Obawy mlodych konsumentow zwiazane z zaspokajaniem potrzeb zywnosciowych w czasie pandemii)

Purpose: The aim of the study was to identify young consumers’ concerns about the increase in food prices and its consequences for young consumers’ eating habits and meeting food needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey of 702 young consumers – students – was carried out in October and November 2020. The questionnaire was available to respondents as a Google form. The obtained data was processed using a standard qualitative analysis and selected quantitative methods, including descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation coefficient and Pearson’s chi-square test. Findings: Nearly 63% of respondents agreed or rather agreed that the food needs of their household are fully met. Almost 44% of respondents stated that they are afraid of the lack of money to meet their food needs during the pandemic, and quite a similar share of respondents (47.3%) stated that they have no concerns in this regard. Although as many as 72% of the surveyed young consumers are concerned about rising food prices, only 22% are concerned that they will have to change their eating habits during the pandemic. The vast majority of respondents (92%) pay attention to the price when buying food and 83% agree that food is wasted in households. Research limitations/implications: Due to the limited possibilities during COVID-19, the research was conducted among 702 respondents, who were mainly students of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW). Such a number of respondents and the sample selection do not fully authorize the generalization of the results. Consequently, the conclusions should not be treated as representative for the whole population of Polish young consumers. Moreover, the questionnaire survey is related to the subjectiveinterpretation of questions and the declarativeness of respondents, which may influence the obtained results. However, despite these limitations, the findings allow for approximating the concerns of this consumer group during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value: As COVID-19 is a new social and economic challenge, young consumers’ concerns in such conditions have not been investigated so far and this study is to fill this gap. Moreover, this research may be a basis for further research as the pandemic situation evolves and may change both young consumers’ economic situation and their concerns about meeting their food needs.