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Defining Ultraprocessed Foods: A Roadmap for U.S. Policy Action
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. The panel assessed evidence to 1) recommend a definition of UPF suitable for guiding policy development and 2) identify policy options to reduce exposure and consumption of UPFs in the U.S.
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July 2026
“It’s just not worth it anymore”: A Mixed Methods Study Examining the Impact of Reinstating Reimbursement Tiers in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
This study aimed to assess impacts of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) reinstatement of tiered reimbursements among family child care home (FCCH) providers, sponsors, and families in California. Irrespective of tier, surveyed providers reported that the reinstated, tiered reimbursements were insufficient (92.4%), resulting in reduced food variety (39.1%) and quality (14.8%), and More
July 2026
Forecasting WIC Funding Needs: Supporting Families, Strengthening Access
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
May 2026
SNAP participation and the healthfulness of food purchased by households with children during the pandemic
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
May 2026
SNAP Decisions: Qualitative Research on the Perceived Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefit Changes on Food Purchases
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants experienced changes in benefits alongside the evolving social and economic environment. Understanding how these factors may have influenced food purchasing decisions can clarify SNAP’s role in shaping diet quality. This study aimed to document SNAP participants’ perspectives on how benefit changes during the pandemic influenced More