How are Cranbourne mums navigating the food shopping maze?

Cranbourne mums are being asked to share their food shopping experiences for a Deakin University study.

Deakin health researcher Gina Bilenkij is interested in hearing how local mums make decisions about what food to buy for their families.

"When choosing food for their families parents are bombarded with all sorts of messages including advertising, advice from the 'experts' and media stories but also things like food prices, supermarket specials and family requests," Ms Bilenkij said.

"For the most part parents are doing a good job in providing for their families. But we know that in many families, for one reason or another, parents aren't always happy with some of the food items they end up buying."

Ms Bilenkij is looking to understand how parents navigate the food shopping maze.

"There has been little research in Australia to date that has asked parents what they face when choosing food for their families. If we really want to support parents in ways that work, we need a good understanding of their 'real life' experiences," Ms Bilenkij said.

"By understanding what parents are really going through when they shop for food we can develop 'real world' solutions to help them make choices that are right for their families."

Cranbourne mums who live in a two parent household and have at least one child of primary school age are invited to be interviewed about their experiences. All mums who participate will receive a gift voucher for a major retailer to compensate them for their time, and some assistance is available for childcare during the interview if needed.

Anyone wanting more information about the study, or would like to participate in 'Feeding Your Family', can call or text Gina on 0432 177 196 or emailfeedingyourfamily@deakin.edu.au