Research & Publications | Healthy Eating Research

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Food Insecurity and the Child Tax Credit

Food insecurity puts people at risk for many poor physical and mental health outcomes. Food insecurity stayed stable during much of the COVID-19 pandemic but rose significantly from 2021-2022 among U.S. households with children. Many federal supports were offered during the COVID-19 pandemic. These included expansions in food assistance programs like SNAP, as well as More

Date: January 2024

Resource Type: Research Brief

Focus Areas: Diet Quality & Healthy Weight Food Access

Evaluating the impact of state-level economic-support policies on the nutritional health of kids and families

To address ongoing concerns of child poverty across the United States, states have introduced and modified family economic security policies related to the state minimum wage (MW) and state earned income tax credit (EITC). While poor nutritional health disproportionately impacts children who experience poverty, few studies have examined the potentially beneficial effects of state-level MW More

Date: November 2023

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Focus Areas: Diet Quality & Healthy Weight Food Access Pricing & Economics

Understanding the social safety net’s impact on food security to inform policy on how best to support children in low-income families

By providing resources to low-income families with children, the safety net has the potential to reduce food insecurity and improve nutrition. Understanding how much, how, and for whom the safety net impacts food security is a critical input into active policy discussions about the best way to support children in low-income families. The project will More

Date: November 2023

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Focus Areas: Food Access Healthy Communities

Identifying and addressing implementation barriers to the Healthy Eating Research Nutrition Guidelines for the Charitable Food System

The successful implementation of nutrition standards in the charitable food system can have a positive impact on the health of vulnerable populations at high risk for nutrition-related health disparities. However, there is considerable variability in the level of implementation of the Healthy Eating Research Guidelines for the Charitable Food System (HER Guidelines) in food banks, More

Date: November 2023

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Focus Areas: Food Access

Examining how federal food and non-food assistance programs improve food security among households with children, focusing on marginalized populations

Food insecurity is linked to a multitude of adverse health outcomes in adults and children. Yet, access to Medicaid has been shown to reduce such adverse health outcomes, and therefore, the ability to access medical care, specifically via Medicaid, is conceivably a driving factor behind the association between food hardship and adverse health. This study More

Date: November 2023

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Focus Areas: Food Access Nutrition Policy & Programs

Construct validity of the Charitable Food Nutrition Index

Food pantries are an important source of food for those facing food insecurity. The Charitable Food Nutrition Index (CFNI) was developed for research and practice to measure the nutritional quality of assortments of foods in this setting. The study assessed the construct validity of the CFNI using secondary data from a group-randomized food pantry intervention More

Date: November 2023

Resource Type: Journal Article

Focus Areas: Food Access

Structural racism and geographic access to food retailers in the United States: A scoping review

This scoping review summarized findings and key measures from U.S.-based studies that 1) examined associations between geographic indicators of structural racism (e.g., redlining, racial segregation) and access to food retailers (e.g., supermarkets, convenience stores) or 2) documented disparities in access by neighborhood racial/ethnic composition. In 2022, relevant scientific literature was reviewed using Covidence software. Independent More

Date: September 2023

Resource Type: Journal Article

Focus Areas: Food Access Food Retail

The Effect of Emergency Rental Assistance on Household and Child Food Hardship

Housing instability and high housing costs are important correlates of food insecurity, and are disproportionately present for Black, Latino, and single-parent households. Although the last two years witnessed the largest allocation of funding for emergency rental assistance (ERA) in U.S. history, the impact of these programs on children’s outcomes, particularly their health and nutrition, is More

Date: June 2023

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Focus Areas: Food Access Healthy Communities

The Rent Eats First: A Multi-Methods Study of Emergency Rental Assistance and Food Insecurity

Forty-six billion dollars in Federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) during the COVID-19 pandemic may have bolstered food budgets by alleviating housing costs, yet impacts on household food insecurity (FI) and other health outcomes are unknown. This study will investigate to what extent ERA programs led to reductions in household FI or other key improvements such More

Date: June 2023

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Focus Areas: Food Access Healthy Communities

Experiences of distress and gaps in government safety net supports among parents of young children during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted rapid federal, state, and local government policymaking to buffer families from the health and economic harms of the pandemic. However, there has been little attention to families’ perceptions of whether the pandemic safety net policy response was adequate, and what is needed to alleviate lasting effects on family well-being. This study More

Date: June 2023

Resource Type: Journal Article

Focus Areas: Early Childhood Food Access Nutrition Policy & Programs