In 2024, the US Department of Agriculture introduced a new federal nutrition initiative, the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program—also known as SUN Bucks. This program offers grocery benefits to low-income families with children during the summer months to help address gaps in summer food assistance. In 2024, 37 states, all 5 US territories, and 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

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

As researchers increasingly utilize systems science simulation modeling (SSSM), little is known about how and by whom SSSMs are being leveraged to address inequities in access to healthy diets. We evaluated the extent to which studies (n = 66) employing SSSM to examine retail food environments (RFEs): included three pillars of equity (social position, human capital, socioeconomic More

Urban grocery stores are facing operational challenges due to crime and are instituting crime mitigation strategies. These strategies may have unintended consequences that limit healthy food access among families with children and create threats to social dignity. This community-driven study aims to: 1) quantify modifiable community characteristics associated with crime at grocery stores; 2) examine More

Nudges offer a promising tool to reduce sugary drink intake among children who are most at risk for diet-related disease. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of online store nudges on purchases of sugary drinks for children in lower-income households. Caregivers with lower-income were recruited to an online shopping experiment and More

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

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

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

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