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
Keywords: Food insecurity, Supportive family policies
Millions of American renter households every year are threatened with eviction, an event associated with severe negative impacts on health and economic well-being. Yet we know little about the characteristics of individuals living in these households. Here, we link 38 million eviction court cases to US Census Bureau data to show that 7.6 million people, More
Keywords: Housing
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
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
The U.S. charitable food system can play a role in addressing social determinants of health because of its expansive reach and community connections. The article highlights (a) strategies to prioritize access to nutritious food and provide a dignified experience; (b) examples of how food pantries can be a portal to federal benefits, health care, and other More
Keywords: Food insecurity
Study Overview and Key Findings Improving healthy food access in low-income communities continues to be a public health challenge. One promising approach has been opening supermarkets in low-income neighborhoods or converting existing food retail operations to emphasize healthy options. The overall goal of this study was to use a case study approach to understand the More
Keywords: Grocery store, Neighborhood, Supermarket
Date: March 2023
Resource Type: Commissioned Research Project Summary
Focus Areas: Food Access Food Retail Healthy Communities
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foods programs for households are designed to provide nutritious foods at no cost to income-eligible individuals in the United States. Our aim was to evaluate the nutritional quality of the foods available from 3 USDA Foods programs for households (ie, The Emergency Food Assistance Program, Food Distribution Program on Indian More
Keywords: Commodity foods, Food insecurity
Inadequate consumption of healthy food is an ongoing public health issue in the United States. Food availability measures of supply versus consumption of healthy foods are disconnected in many studies. There is a need for an objective assessment of the food environment in order to assess how the food supply aligns with the Healthy Eating More
Keywords: Corner store, Grocery store, Neighborhood, Supermarket
Date: October 2022
Resource Type: Journal Article
Focus Areas: Food Access Food Retail Healthy Communities
In the United States, low-income, underserved rural and urban settings experience poor access to healthy, affordable food. Introducing new food outlets in these locations has shown mixed results for improving healthy food consumption. The Healthy Community Stores Case Study Project (HCSCSP) explored an alternative strategy: supporting mission-driven, locally owned, healthy community food stores to improve More
Keywords: Grocery store, Neighborhood, Supermarket
Date: July 2022
Resource Type: Journal Article
Focus Areas: Food Access Food Retail Healthy Communities
Mission-driven, independently-owned community food stores have been identified as a potential solution to improve access to healthy foods, yet to date there is limited information on what factors contribute to these stores’ success and failure. Using a multiple case study approach, this study examined what makes a healthy community food store successful and identified strategies More
Keywords: Grocery store, Neighborhood, Supermarket
Date: July 2022
Resource Type: Journal Article
Focus Areas: Food Access Food Retail Healthy Communities