Addressing structural racism requires structural solutions. Racial and/or health equity impact assessments (R/HEIAs) help predict how a proposed policy, action, budget, or decision is likely to create, worsen, prevent, or reduce racial inequities. R/HEIAs are similar to fiscal notes or environmental impact assessments except that they focus on racial inequities. They analyze how a proposed More

In 2023, to respond to increased rates of child food insecurity during the summer Congress authorized states to opt in to allowing noncongregate, or “grab-and-go,” summer meal services for students in rural areas. In the summer of 2023, 46 states and DC opted in, and in the summer of 2024 all 50 states and DC More

On 18 April 2024, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the first food package changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in over a decade, which reduced some food benefits (juice, milk, canned fish, and infant fruits and vegetables) and offered substitutes (cash-value vouchers (CVVs) or cash-value More

This scoping review aims to summarize the state of the evidence on associations between participation in nonfood social safety net programs (eg, income assistance, housing assistance) in the United States and food- and nutrition insecurity–related outcomes. Six databases were systematically searched for peer-reviewed articles. Included articles (n = 65) reported on studies that examined 10 unique social More

The objective of this study was to explore the impact of policy flexibilities deployed during the COVID-19 public health emergency on access, enrollment/retention, benefit utilization, and perceptions of SNAP and WIC. The review identified 37 eligible articles. Twelve studies evaluated policy flexibilities in SNAP only, 21 in WIC only, and 4 in both programs. Across More

This policy brief provides evidence supporting the need for an increase in the number of reimbursable meals and snacks under the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program, also known as CACFP, from three to four per child daily. CACFP provides nutritious meals to nearly 625,000 children attending family childcare homes nationwide, primarily from lower-income More

This study focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic-related experiences of non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic families with young children (birth to age 5) and low incomes. Families with low incomes were overrepresented among the unemployed populations in most U.S. metropolitan areas, and a higher percentage of non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic workers with low incomes were displaced for More

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) eligibility expansion intends to offer benefits to more students, yet leaders of eligible districts may choose not to apply for CEP to avoid related fiscal challenges, such as covering the cost of meals and potential loss of state aid. This project is the first to examine characteristics of the eligible More

Universal free school meals (UFSMs) can reduce disparities in food and nutrition security by addressing barriers to accessing nutritious food. Eight states have passed permanent UFSMs policies and others are underway; however, existing research mainly considers the effects of UFSMs without examining their implementation. This study aims to: 1) Describe how UFSMs have been implemented More

CACFP has the potential to reach many families with low income to support improved food security, diet quality, and financial stability. Yet just over half of FCCHs in California participate. Previously HER-funded research shows this is due in part to complex program administrative burdens. This project will develop and pilot a peer navigator intervention to More