Quarantine has affected all of our lives, and a colossal part of our lives is food. Being stuck inside surrounded by snacks is both a blessing and a curse, and some of our habits inevitably change.

Eating is one of the simple pleasures of life. Every time I send a spoon of greek yogurt sliding down my esophagus; and absorb the sweet, sweet nutrients, I feel better than I have ever felt in my entire life. It’s also an important factor in contributing to your well-being. If you don’t eat enough or don’t eat filling foods, you’re likely going to feel like garbage. 

Before quarantine, eating was straightforward. Lunch was around the same time every day and it was whatever you brought/bought that day. However, now the option to eat all the time is available. So, have people’s eating habits changed dramatically?

For my sample of three people, not really. One of the consistent changes was an increase in snacking. One of the people I interviewed; a senior in the running start program, said that before quarantine a typical day of eating was toast and fruit for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and dinner changed day to day. However, due to changes in sleep schedule, he now “[doesn’t] eat breakfast because [he] sleeps at least until noon.” Instead of eating that meal for breakfast, he snacks before he goes to bed at around two every night. 

Another person I interviewed; a senior at Capital, explains a somewhat similar experience. His pre-quarantine diet consisted of some sort of sausage for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and his dinner varied. He says under his new diet he “snack[s] a lot more just because of boredom,” because of that he considers his diet less healthy than before quarantine started. 

This snacking trend continues with my third interviewee, a Capital High School senior. For her, a day of pre-quarantine eating looked pretty typical, with tea in the morning, bagel and applesauce for lunch, and with different dinners day to day. However, quarantine has allowed her to transcend the need for lunch and now she only eats “some chips at 3” and dinner. With quarantine having no end in sight, the extra time we have can be used to develop good habits that will last far into the future. Now is a great time for working on self-improvement and eating well, despite how hard it is.