Focus Area: Nutrition Policy & Programs

Evaluating School Wellness Policies Following Implementation of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010: Updating the Wellness School Assessment Tool (WellSAT)

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The primary aim of this project is to revise and update the content and format of the WellSAT (Wellness School Assessment Tool, www.wellsat.org), an online quantitative measure for evaluating the quality of school wellness policies. Originally launched in 2009, the website has had thousands of visitors across all 50 states, and is used by policy-makers, More

Impact of the Revised Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Food Package Policy on Fruit and Vegetable Prices

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In 2009, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) was modified to align the WIC food packages with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. As part of the revisions, WIC added a fruit and vegetable (F/V) voucher to the food packages. This paper describes a quasi-experimental study that examined whether F/V More

A Model to Drive Research-Based Policy Change: Improving the Nutritional Quality of Emergency Food

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This article discusses the process a nonprofit policy advocacy organization (California Food Policy Advocates) and an academic research center (Center for Weight and Health at University of California, Berkeley) went through to develop policy and practice recommendations aimed at improving the nutritional quality of emergency foods. In February 2012, these two organizations convened a one-day More

The Childhood Obesity Epidemic: Lessons Learned from Tobacco

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The large increases in the prevalence of cigarette smoking and obesity in the 20th century are associated with changes in tobacco and food products, as well as social and physical environments that support or discourage smoking, unhealthy dietary intake, and sedentary behaviors. This paper focuses on several of the primary factors responsible for the increase More

Improving Healthy Eating Among Children Through Changes in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Policies: An Economic Microsimulation

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Over 10 million children participate in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Recent proposed policy changes have suggested banning or taxing the use of SNAP benefits for sugar-sweetened beverage purchases and/or subsidizing fruit and vegetable purchases with SNAP benefits. Several uncertainties about these proposed policies remain unanswered: 1) How will substitution of some products More

Economic and Community Development Outcomes of Healthy Food Retail

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New grocery stores, corner stores, farmers’ markets, and other food retailers can generate a significant economic stimulus for communities–especially communities of color and lower-income communities. This paper examines the connection between improved healthy food retail and resulting economic and community development. Several types of innovations in food retail, distribution, and production are examined, and select More

Economic and Community Development Outcomes of Healthy Food Retail. An Issue Brief

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New grocery stores, corner stores, farmers’ markets, and other food retailers can generate a significant economic stimulus for communities–especially communities of color and lower-income communities. This paper examines the connection between improved healthy food retail and resulting economic and community development. Several types of innovations in food retail, distribution, and production are examined, and select More

Associations of Food Stamp Participation with Dietary Quality and Obesity in Children

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Studies suggest that participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—the largest federal nutrition assistance program in the U.S.—may be associated with suboptimal dietary patterns among adults, but these associations have not been extensively examined among children. This paper discusses the results of a study that examined the overall dietary quality among a national sample More

Assessing the Potential Effectiveness of Food and Beverage Taxes and Subsidies for Improving Public Health: A Systematic Review of Prices, Demand and Body Weight Outcomes

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Given the obesity epidemic in the United States, taxes and subsidies are increasingly being considered as potential policy instruments to incentivize consumers to improve their food and beverage consumption patterns and related health outcomes. This paper discusses the results of recent U.S. studies on the price elasticity of demand for sugar-sweetened beverages, fast food, and More

A Qualitative Study of Diverse Experts’ Views About Barriers and Strategies to Improve the Diets and Health of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Beneficiaries

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This study engaged experts from diverse sectors to explore their opinions concerning the existing challenges to eating nutritiously in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program and propose strategies for improving the diets and health of SNAP recipients. The high cost of nutrient-rich foods, inadequate SNAP benefits amounts, and environmental factors associated with poverty were More