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The purpose of this paper is to assess the meal selection and potential vegetable substitution preferences in a sample of university students, to inform design of planned nudge interventions for increasing vegetable intake in on-campus cafeterias. The setting was a public university in southern Ontario, Canada.

An online survey was disseminated via multiple channels, and 686 undergraduate students responded. The frequency of purchasing specific meals on campus was queried first to set context, and then preferences for meal types (wraps, pasta, etc.), followed by preferences for vegetables to be added within meal types.

For portable meal options such as sandwiches, pitas and wraps, preferred vegetables for modification were cucumbers, spinach, tomatoes and bell peppers, and having vegetable toppings and raw cauliflower or broccoli as sides with pizza. For burgers or hotdogs, preferred sides were garden salad, cucumber slices and carrot sticks. Broccoli was the most preferred vegetable addition and substitution for sit-down meals, such as meals of chicken, beef, pork or fish with a side of potatoes or rice.

The findings can be used to design nudge interventions in university cafeterias by incorporating preferred vegetables into composite meals frequently purchased by students.

Few nudge studies to date have incorporated more vegetables into existing composite meals and offering them as the new default. Stated preferences are a reasonable starting point for the design of such interventions.