Establishing county-level food and beverage standards is a promising strategy for improving nutrition environments. This study will investigate the impact of nutrition standards policies on county facilities that serve foods and beverages to children from lower-income communities of color in California. The specific aims are to: 1) describe the process of developing, implementing, and monitoring county nutrition standards, best practices, and lessons learned in seven ethnically and socioeconomically diverse counties in California that have developed these policies to date; 2) examine the strength, quality, and key components of nutrition standards policies in terms of potential to increase access to healthy foods and beverages; 3) assess the extent of implementation and adherence to county nutrition standards policies; and 4) identify differences in nutrition environments between counties that have implemented nutrition standards and a matched comparison sample of counties that do not have any nutrition standards policies in place. A multi-method approach will be used including policy review, environmental assessments, key informant interviews, and an online survey.
Investigating Nutrition Standards in Seven California Counties to Inform Policy at Local, State, and Federal Levels
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