In partnership with Westat and with support from Healthy Eating Research, the National WIC Association (NWA) developed a new forecasting model to project funding needs of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) for Fiscal Year 2027. Report This report describes the model development, including methodology, as well as analysis conducted More

Changes in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic included emergency benefit allotments and operation waivers. Using five expenditure-based measures of the nutritional quality of food purchases, we tested whether changes in SNAP during the first year of the pandemic were associated with better nutritional quality of food purchases More

Clear, evidence-based guidance on what foods and beverages children and adolescents should consume—and in what amounts—is foundational for promoting healthy growth and preventing diet-related chronic disease across the life course. Yet many children and adolescents in the US continue to have diets of poor nutritional quality. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), issued every 5 More

Despite growing interest in ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), there is not consensus on how to define UPFs for policy purposes. To meet this need, Healthy Eating Research convened an expert panel to develop evidence-informed recommendations for policymakers and advocates interested in advancing policies to limit UPF exposure and consumption at the local, state, and federal levels. More

Despite benefits of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), many eligible children remain unenrolled. This study evaluated responses to an electronic health record (EHR)-embedded federal nutrition program (FNP) participation screening and WIC referral tool implemented within eight clinics during <5-year-well visits. Among 5,385 children, mean age at initial screening was More

Integrating WIC referrals within clinical care may improve WIC uptake, data sharing, and nutrition/health outcomes, but little research has explored family perspectives about information exchange between health care providers and WIC regarding their child’s health. Better understanding family perceptions of information exchange could facilitate improvements in the design of effective, family-centered referral pathways. This study More

This perspective provides policymakers, advocates and researchers with a description of proposed and enacted policies that assist consumers in identifying products with nonsugar sweeteners (NSS) and/or reduce NSS exposure. Consumption of NSS is associated with multiple chronic diseases. NSS exposure is increasing as food and beverage manufacturers replace added sugars with NSS. This narrative review More

Many eligible families face barriers to WIC enrollment, including administrative challenges (such as navigating eligibility criteria) and logistical issues (such as a lack of transportation to in-person appointments and insufficient time for attending enrollment appointments). Pediatricians in academic medical systems are well positioned to promote WIC enrollment because of the frequency of their well-child visits More

Most children and adolescents in the U.S. fall short of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, with disparities by race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geography. As K-12 students consume much of their daily nutrition from school meals, this scoping review sought to document reported impacts of Farm to School (F2S) programs on child-level food-related outcomes More

This study explored how increased Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits interacted for dually enrolled households. Twenty-five parents dually enrolled in WIC and SNAP in the spring of 2020 shared perceptions of expanded benefits and reduced administrative requirements via semistructured interviews. Specifically, parents shared More