Start Date: November 2023

ID #: 81351

Principal Investigator: Maria Fernanda Gombi Vaca, PhD

Organization: University of Connecticut

Funding Round: HER Round 13

See more related research

Share


The successful implementation of nutrition standards in the charitable food system can have a positive impact on the health of vulnerable populations at high risk for nutrition-related health disparities. However, there is considerable variability in the level of implementation of the Healthy Eating Research Guidelines for the Charitable Food System (HER Guidelines) in food banks, particularly in terms of completeness and accuracy of nutrition ranking. This proposal aims to address these issues by systematically identifying challenges and opportunities to improve the implementation of HER Guidelines. The project has three aims: (1) to investigate the challenges faced by food banks in implementing HER Guidelines; (2) to develop an intervention that improves completeness and accuracy of nutrition ranking; and (3) to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention and its potential for dissemination. This study will use a mixed methods approach. Secondary data from the inventory of 12 food banks will be analyzed to assess completeness and accuracy of nutrition ranking, identifying common errors and omissions. Qualitative data will be collected through interviews with staff from these 12 food banks using questions based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to understand challenges of HER Guidelines implementation. Based on these findings, a technical assistance intervention will be developed. The intervention will then be implemented in a new sample of 8 food banks, with pre- and post-intervention data collected to measure changes in completeness and accuracy of nutrition ranking.

Focus Area: Food Access

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Keyword: Nutrition standards

Related Research

July 2025

State Earned Income Tax Credit and Food Security: Results Among Economically At-Risk Households With Children

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the state Earned Income Tax Credit on food insecurity among economically at-risk U.S. households with children and explore differential effects across sociodemographic groups. The authors used an intent-to-treat causal inference design and household-level data from all 50 U.S. states available from the Current Population More

May 2025

Implementation Insights and Equity: Considerations for Summer EBT in 2024

In 2024, the US Department of Agriculture introduced a new federal nutrition initiative, the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program—also known as SUN Bucks. This program offers grocery benefits to low-income families with children during the summer months to help address gaps in summer food assistance. In 2024, 37 states, all 5 US territories, and More

March 2025

State Minimum Wage and Food Insecurity Among US Households With Children

This study aimed to assess whether state minimum wage generosity was associated with change in food insecurity among households with children and explore differential policy impacts across sociodemographic groups. This cross-sectional study of a national sample of US households from the Current Population Survey used a 2-way fixed effects modeling approach to test whether increases More