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

The study goals and objectives are: 1) To conduct mixed methods research to construct case studies in 7 diverse healthy food-focused retail food stores located in low-income communities throughout the United States; 2) To understand experiences of these stores in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, including strengths and vulnerabilities; and 3) To conduct a More

Pricing incentives may reduce disparities in obesity among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants by increasing fruit and vegetable purchases. However, few studies have evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of those incentives in supermarkets, as opposed to farmers markets. In 2015 and 2016, as part of a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) pilot program, a More

The goal of the current study is to identify how perceptions of the FWC and water supply safety impact the child feeding beliefs and behaviors of Black mothers from Ypsilanti, Michigan, a low-income community one hour from Flint. This goal will be accomplished by completion of two study objectives: (1) Conduct in-depth interviews and a More

Access to safe and appealing drinking water in child care centers and schools is a key strategy to build healthy habits that children will use for life to maintain a healthy body weight and to support overall health. This study compiled drinking water policies for schools and child-care centers in 20 states and developed policy More

To understand how advocates, schools, the food industry, policymakers, and others have shaped discussions about school nutrition at the state and local level since the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA), Berkeley Media Studies Group and the Public Health Advocacy Institute systematically examined news coverage and legislative and regulatory documents from 11 states. More

The 2014 Farm Bill Authorization included $100 million to promote the purchase of fresh produce among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants through matching financial incentives for every SNAP dollar spent on fresh produce. As part of this, the Fair Food Network (FFN) received over $5 million to expand its SNAP match program, Double Up More

The purpose of this project is to put safe drinking water in schools and child-care centers on par with other foods and beverages regulated by nutrition policies. The study will compile drinking water policies for schools and child-care centers in 20 states, use what has been learned by the healthy food and beverage procurement movement More

The Michigan Healthy School Action Tools (HSAT) is an online self-assessment and action planning process for schools seeking to improve their health policies and practices. This study evaluated whether undertaking the Michigan HSAT process and receiving assistance from a facilitator and a small amount of grant funding resulted in (1) improvements in school nutrition practices More

This article discusses the results of the School Nutrition Advances Kids (SNAK) project which examined the effectiveness of various nutrition interventions on the diets of lower-income middle school students in Michigan. Schools were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups: 1) completed an assessment of nutrition education policies and environments using the Healthy School More