Start Date: August 2019

ID #: CAS061

Organization: Centers for Science in the Public Interest

Project Lead: Margo Wootan

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Healthy Eating Research (HER) is commissioning the Center for Science in the Public Interest to produce a report outlining the proceedings of a convening to develop a research agenda for healthy retail. The resulting research agenda and proceedings will be based on a series of literature reviews, white papers, interviews, and convening discussions. In 2010, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Food Trust convened more than 60 public health leaders and food industry representatives to discuss how to make it easier for families and individuals to purchase healthier foods in grocery stores. Since then, advocates and local communities have worked to improve retail food environments, but grocery stores and food manufactures could do more to support healthy eating. Building on the success of the 2010 convening, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), The Food Trust, Healthy Eating Research (HER), and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHBSPH) will bring together researchers, nonprofit organizations, and industry representatives to develop a set of research and programming priorities. These priorities will advance healthier food marketing in stores. The subrecipient will produce a final report detailing the healthy retail research agenda that identifies and prioritizes key retail marketing practice studies and pilots to better support healthy food purchases and to reduce purchases of unhealthy food and beverages; on-going studies, existing datasets, and interested researchers; and best practices to encourage retailers and food manufacturers to agree to studies and pilots.

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