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
Addressing structural racism requires structural solutions. Racial and/or health equity impact assessments (R/HEIAs) help predict how a proposed policy, action, budget, or decision is likely to create, worsen, prevent, or reduce racial inequities. R/HEIAs are similar to fiscal notes or environmental impact assessments except that they focus on racial inequities. They analyze how a proposed More
In 2023, to respond to increased rates of child food insecurity during the summer Congress authorized states to opt in to allowing noncongregate, or “grab-and-go,” summer meal services for students in rural areas. In the summer of 2023, 46 states and DC opted in, and in the summer of 2024 all 50 states and DC More
This scoping review aims to summarize the state of the evidence on associations between participation in nonfood social safety net programs (eg, income assistance, housing assistance) in the United States and food- and nutrition insecurity–related outcomes. Six databases were systematically searched for peer-reviewed articles. Included articles (n = 65) reported on studies that examined 10 unique social More
Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), or SUN Bucks, is a new federal program that provides grocery benefits to low-income families with children during the summer months, when children no longer have access to free or reduced-price meals at school. However, 13 states did not opt into the program when it launched in 2024. To understand More
The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) eligibility expansion intends to offer benefits to more students, yet leaders of eligible districts may choose not to apply for CEP to avoid related fiscal challenges, such as covering the cost of meals and potential loss of state aid. This project is the first to examine characteristics of the eligible More
The aim of this project is to update and synchronize two measures: the Wellness School Assessment Tool (WellSAT), which is a quantitative measure of written district wellness policies, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s School Health Index (SHI), which is a self-report measure of school-based practices. The WellSAT and SHI are the leading More
Recent cash-value benefit (CVB) increases are a positive development to help increase WIC participant fruits and vegetables (FV) access. This mixed method study aimed to evaluate (a) the CVB changes’ impact on FV access among WIC child participants measured by CVB redemption rates, (b) facilitators and barriers to CVB changes’ implementation, and (c) differences in More
Fiscal policies can shift relative food prices to encourage the purchase and consumption of minimally processed foods while discouraging the purchase and consumption of unhealthy ultraprocessed foods, high in calories and nutrients of concern (sodium, sugar, and saturated fats), especially for low-income households. The 2017–2018 packaged food purchase data among U.S. households were used to More
Medicaid, SNAP, and WIC provide low-income children access to vital medical and nutrition services for long-term health and well-being. Despite these benefits, few studies have investigated if these safety net programs, or the synergistic combination of all three programs, are associated with diet quality and weight status; and none have focused on examining these longitudinal More
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