Start Date: November 2019

ID #: CAS056

Organization: Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition

Project Lead: Amy Yaroch, PhD

See more related research

Share


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.

Related Research

February 2025

Consumption of the Food Groups with the Revised Benefits in the New WIC Food Package: A Scoping Review

On 18 April 2024, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the first food package changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in over a decade, which reduced some food benefits (juice, milk, canned fish, and infant fruits and vegetables) and offered substitutes (cash-value vouchers (CVVs) or cash-value More

January 2025

A Systematic Review: The Impact of COVID-19 Policy Flexibilities on SNAP and WIC Programmatic Outcomes

The objective of this study was to explore the impact of policy flexibilities deployed during the COVID-19 public health emergency on access, enrollment/retention, benefit utilization, and perceptions of SNAP and WIC. The review identified 37 eligible articles. Twelve studies evaluated policy flexibilities in SNAP only, 21 in WIC only, and 4 in both programs. Across More

December 2024

Evidence to Support an Additional CACFP Meal Reimbursement for Family Childcare Home Providers

This policy brief provides evidence supporting the need for an increase in the number of reimbursable meals and snacks under the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program, also known as CACFP, from three to four per child daily. CACFP provides nutritious meals to nearly 625,000 children attending family childcare homes nationwide, primarily from lower-income More