The overarching goal of this project is to conduct a mixed-methods formative evaluation to explore food insecurity in low-income center-based ECE settings at both the macro-and micro-levels in order to accomplish the following objectives: 1) Determine the relevance of food insecurity as a priority area within the context of ECE settings and among ECE professionals (i.e., national stakeholders, owners, directors, teachers) and the current policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) practices (if any) that are being recommended and utilized to address food insecurity among low-income families and children; 2) Extrapolate experiences of ECE providers (e.g., directors, teachers) serving children and families experiencing food insecurity/hunger and the perceived effects of food insecurity on promoting nutrition/feeding policies and practices in the ECE setting; and 3) Identify potential new PSE practices that can be utilized in ECE centers across the US to address food insecurity and support children and families that are experiencing food insecurity.
Start Date: November 2019
ID #: CAS056
Organization: Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition
Project Lead: Amy Yaroch, PhD
Keywords: Child Care/Preschool, Food insecurity
Resource Type: Commissioned Research Project Summary
Focus Area: Early Childhood
Age Groups: Pregnant women, infants and toddlers (ages 0 to 2), Preschool-age children (ages 3 to 5)
Related Research
November 2025
Forecasting WIC funding needs: Supporting families, strengthening access
WIC serves more than 50% of all infants born in the U.S. The goal of this study is to build a forecasting model to estimate national WIC funding needs under various policy and economic conditions through fiscal year 2027. The model will also be designed to allow for updates to forecast funding needs for future MoreAugust 2025
Diet Quality and Weight Status are Predicted by Federal Nutrition Assistance Program Participation, Health, and Demographics
This study investigated whether demographic, social, and economic determinants of health, including length of time participating in safety net programs, are associated with diet quality and weight status in early childhood. Using the WIC infant and toddler feeding practices study-2, classification and regression tree identified the sequence of binary splits that best differentiated the sample MoreFebruary 2025