Responses to the Changing WIC Package Among Small Food Store Retailers in the United States: A Mixed Methods Study

The Healthy Eating Research (HER) Corner Store working group, comprised of HER grantees conducting research in this topic area, undertook a research project that builds on existing projects in multiple communities around the United States. Each of the eight participating sites in seven states produced in-depth interviews with small store owners and managers. The interviews More

Understanding School Leaders’ Perspective of the Barriers and Facilitators in Making Free Water Available in Schools

Water, as a beverage replacement for sugar-sweetened beverages, is a promising school-based obesity prevention strategy. Implemented in July 2011, California Senate Bill 1413 (SB1413) requires schools to provide free, fresh drinking water during mealtimes in school food service areas. This research project examined barriers and facilitators that influence the availability of free water in school More

Healthy Food Availability in Small Urban Food Stores: A Comparison of Four U.S. Cities

This article assesses the availability of healthy foods in small food stores within four metropolitan areas: Baltimore, Maryland; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Oakland, California; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Overall, availability of healthy foods within these small urban stores was limited. For nearly all food/beverage categories, scores regarding healthy food availability increased as store size increased.

‘Competitive’ Food and Beverage Policies: Are They Influencing Childhood Overweight Trends?

This article explores whether new policies restricting ‘competitive’ foods and beverages in schools affected the increasing rates of overweight children in California. While the authors find that the rate of increase of overweight children did decrease significantly since the policies’ implementation, the extent to which the policies contributed to this rate of decrease in childhood More

Mobile Food Vending and the After-School Food Environment

This article finds that mobile food vendors contribute to after-school snacking among children, and should be considered part of the school food environment. Based on data collected in Oakland, CA in the spring of 2008, researchers found a wide variety of vendors near schools. They include vendors who sell low-nutrient, calorie-dense items, such as ice More

Assessing Recommendations From a Study on Improving Nutrition in Licensed Child-Care Centers in California

Approximately 50% of preschool-aged children in California are enrolled in licensed child-care settings, primarily in day care centers. These children consume a significant portion of their daily nutrition in child-care centers. Previous research has indicated that centers participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) served healthier foods than those not participating in More

Nutrition and Physical Activity Environments in Licensed Child Care: A Statewide Assessment of California

This report summarizes the results of a survey assessing the nutrition and physical activity environments for 2- to 5-year old children in licensed child-care facilities in California, including child-care centers and homes, and state preschool and Head Start program sites. Researchers found that child-care sites that participated in the Child and Adult Care Food Program More