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

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

Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), or SUN Bucks, is a new federal program that provides grocery benefits to low-income families with children during the summer months, when children no longer have access to free or reduced-price meals at school. However, 13 states did not opt into the program when it launched in 2024. To understand 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 aimed to understand experiences with COVID-19 economic relief measures among low-wage worker households with children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews from low-wage workers in households with children in two U.S. cities in 2022 (n = 40). The sample was recruited from a larger study which included survey measures 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

The need for WIC food delivery solutions has been recognized as a national policy priority to ensure equitable access to WIC benefits. WIC food ordering and delivery has the potential to significantly WIC benefit redemption and health equity on the Navajo Nation, but infrastructure and other contextual factors must be considered in order to implement More

In 2023 and 2024, after a decade of decreasing participation, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is witnessing a nationwide increase in program enrollment. This project will tackle 3 project aims to identify the policies, procedures, and technologies associated with increasing participation. Aim 1 will focus on California as a More

Drinking water instead of sugary drinks is key to reducing health disparities. Since beverage habits are shaped by complex personal, community, and environmental factors, community input is critical to design any intervention promoting water. The research team worked with community partners to design a program to promote healthy beverage habits among young Navajo children. The More

Community-based policy, systems, and environmental interventions have the potential to reduce modifiable risk factors for obesity early in life. The purpose of this scoping review was to characterize the breadth, generalizability, and methodological quality of community-based diet and obesity-related policy, system, and environmental interventions during the first 1000 days of life, from pregnancy to 24 months More