Evaluating the Impact of Subsidizing Purchases of Fresh Produce in Supermarkets for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Recipients

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

Prioritizing Transportation Equity through Complete Streets

Complete Streets is a transportation and design concept in which streets are designed to be safe and accessible to all users and modes of transportation. This report summarizes findings from a qualitative study of eight communities that had identified equity as a priority in their Complete Streets policy to identify how equity is being implemented More

Evaluating Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Advertising prior to Implementation of the San Francisco Warning Label Ordinance

Starting in July 2016, San Francisco, Calif., will require prominent warning labels on most sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) advertisements (i.e., “WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay”). The purpose of this project is to collect baseline data on the presence and types of SSB print advertising visible in a sample More

Measures of Retail Food Store Environments and Sales: Review and Implications for Healthy Eating Initiatives

This review describes available measures of retail food store environments, including data collection methods, characteristics of measures, the dimensions most commonly captured across methods, and their strengths and limitations. Articles were included if they were published between 1990 and 2015 in an English-language peer-reviewed journal and presented original research findings on the development and/or use More

Understanding the Feasibility of Implementing the Recommendations for Minimum Stocking Levels and Marketing Strategies for Small Retail Food Stores

The purposes of this project are to: 1) understand the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the Minimum Stocking Levels and Marketing Strategies of Healthful Foods for Small Retail Food Stores recommendations developed in 2015 among stores most likely to face challenges (rural and urban, dollar and family-owned stores), and 2) obtain a baseline More

Identifying Successful Childhood Obesity Interventions in Massachusetts Schools and Using Findings to Improve Programs at Schools Left Behind

While overall prevalence of obesity improved in Massachusetts public schools between 2009 and 2014, prevalence remained unchanged for children living in poor, rural, and smaller communities. This project will identify which programs and activities have been effective in reducing childhood obesity among the successful schools, and use the information to guide future interventions for those More

Assessing Digital Food and Beverage Marketing in Middle Schools Nationally to Inform Policy to Restrict Marketers’ Access to Children

This study aims to assess school digital marketing environments in a national sample of middle schools to identify opportunities and barriers to limit school-based marketing. This team previously developed a survey to assess digital marketing in schools as part of a previous HER-funded grant which will be used in this study. The specific aims of More

Refining and Disseminating a Valid, Reliable Quantitative Assessment Tool, WellSAT-I, to Measure Implementation of School Wellness Policies

The primary goal of this project is to refine and disseminate a valid, reliable quantitative assessment tool to measure the implementation of school wellness policies use to meet the Healthy and Hunger-Free Kids Act mandate to evaluate and report on wellness policy implementation. The research team previously developed the WellSAT tool to assess written school More