The Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition was funded by Healthy Eating Research to conduct a study exploring how the policy changes in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) cash value benefit (CVB), or fruit and vegetable money, during the pandemic impacted the WIC program and child access to fruits and More
The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) improves nutrition and reduces food insecurity for young children while helping cover food costs for care providers and families. Despite its important benefits, the program is underutilized. This report uses qualitative interviews with state CACFP administrators representing 28 states to explore federal and state policies and practices that support or discourage CACFP participation among licensed child More
The United States has an ongoing maternal and infant health crisis, characterized by stark disparities. The WIC program could equitably improve health outcomes, but it is underutilized. Identifying strategies for healthcare systems to efficiently connect pregnant patients with WIC is a public health and policy priority. This study will use the electronic health record (EHR) More
Keywords: Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Date: November 2023
Resource Type: Grant Summary
Focus Areas: Early Childhood Nutrition Policy & Programs
Summer EBT and non-congregate meals are summer meal options that have known associations with reducing food hardship and barriers to food access. But take-up can vary across states, which creates disparities among marginalized populations. The study aims to analyze the coverage, take-up, and implementation decisions made around Summer EBT and non-congregate meals. The research team More
Keywords: School meal programs
Date: November 2023
Resource Type: Grant Summary
Focus Areas: Nutrition Policy & Programs School & After School
WIC can improve maternal and childhood health and nutrition, yet only 50% of people who qualify for WIC receive benefits, with racial disparities across states. Beyond state and national estimates, less is known about zip code-level racial/ethnic coverage rates or the factors influencing program reach. This study will be the first large-scale assessment of overall More
Keywords: Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Date: November 2023
Resource Type: Grant Summary
Focus Areas: Early Childhood Nutrition Policy & Programs
Medicaid, SNAP, and WIC provide low-income children access to vital medical and nutrition services for long-term health and well-being. Despite these benefits, few studies have investigated if these safety net programs, or the synergistic combination of all three programs, are associated with diet quality and weight status; and none have focused on examining these longitudinal More
Date: November 2023
Resource Type: Grant Summary
Focus Areas: Diet Quality & Healthy Weight Early Childhood Nutrition Policy & Programs
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
Although consumers used online grocery shopping more frequently to limit exposure to the COVID-19 virus during the pandemic, the participants of some federal nutrition assistance programs lacked the option to redeem their food benefits online. Some retailers were pilot-testing online food benefit ordering for the participants of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, More
Keywords: COVID-19, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Date: November 2023
Resource Type: Journal Article
Focus Areas: Food Retail Nutrition Policy & Programs
The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) improves nutrition and reduces food insecurity among young children by helping cover the food costs for child care providers and families. This nationwide study evaluated the extent and predictors of the CACFP’s utilization among licensed child care centers to identify opportunities for expanding CACFP nutrition support. More
Date: November 2023
Resource Type: Journal Article
Focus Areas: Early Childhood Nutrition Policy & Programs
This study aimed to test the effects of a standardized front-of-package (FOP) disclosure statement (indicating added sugar, non-nutritive sweetener (NNS) and juice content) on accuracy in assessing ingredients and perceived healthfulness of children’s drinks. In two randomized controlled experiments, the same participants (six hundred and forty-eight U.S. caregivers of young children ages 1-5 years) viewed More