Intention to eat traditional food among UiTM Cawangan Terengganu, Kampus Dungun students / Mohammad Nuruddin Ramlan and Puteri Nur Athirah Ghazali

Traditional food is continuously near to each culture and it represents a historic meaning to the society. Towards survivability of the traditional foods, matters such as preparation, recipes and ingredients used are passed down from one generation to another. Traditional food represents a country, religion and culture that brings out the unique identity. Despite the importance in bringing all the essence of culture and tradition, today’s generation tends to consume less traditional food as compared to the former generation. Lots of youth today like to choose convenience food or fast food as their daily meal. This phenomenon is contributed by several factors and it is a worrying trend as if the traditional food is consumed less in the coming years, traditional food will be overlooked and forgotten, making the future generation unaware of its existence. The aim of this research is to investigate the intention to eat traditional food among students and to determine possible factors that influence the intention to eat traditional food among students of UiTM Cawangan Terengganu, Kampus Dungun. This study focuses on the young adult aged between 19 to 26 years old from UiTM Cawangan Terengganu, Kampus Dungun. 346 sample were chosen randomly according to their respective faculties in completing this study. Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has been adapted in determining the intention to eat traditional food among students of UiTMCawangan Terengganu, Kampus Dungun by using three determinants which are Attitude towards Traditional Food, Social Norms and Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC). The results from this study indicate that the students, regardless of gender, tend to eat traditional food due to the nature of the food is readily available and easy to buy in Dungun area. This factor will be discussed further in the Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC) variable as it is emerged as the most significant variable that leads to the intention to eat traditional food among the students. Apart from that, theoretical and practical perspectives are also included for future research advancement in preserving the nature and importance of the traditional food to the society especially the younger generation.