Examining Food Security, Fruit and Vegetable Intake, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Outcomes of Produce Prescription (PPR) Programs: A Systematic Review.

Objective: Outcomes from produce prescription (PPR) programs, an exemplar of a Food is Medicine intervention, have not been synthesized. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review to examine the impact of PPR programs on food security, fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, and/or cardiovascular risk factors (HbA1c, blood pressure, and blood lipids).

Design: Searches were conducted across three databases (PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science).

Barriers and Facilitators to Online Grocery Shopping Among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Participants: A Mixed Method Study.

This mixed methods study explored online grocery shopping perceptions by surveying individuals who do and do not receive SNAP benefits ( = 129) and by conducting interviews with SNAP recipients ( = 26) who have grocery shopped online. T-tests assessed survey findings, codebook thematic analysis was used to identify qualitative themes, and results were interpreted collectively. Survey results found no differences in perceptions of online grocery shopping between SNAP and non-SNAP recipients (p-values = 0.

Multi-Method Formative Evaluation of a Digital Online Grocery Shopping Assistant Among Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Participants.

Objective: Assess the acceptability of a digital grocery shopping assistant among rural women with low income.

Design: Simulated shopping experience, semistructured interviews, and a choice experiment.

Setting: Rural central North Carolina Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children clinic.

Mixed methods evaluation of the COVID-19 changes to the WIC cash-value benefit for fruits and vegetables.

Introduction: Recent cash-value benefit (CVB) increases are a positive development to help increase WIC participant fruits and vegetables (FV) access. Little is known about the impacts of the CVB changes on FV redemptions or about implementation successes and challenges among WIC State and local agencies. 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 FV redemption and facilitators and barriers by race/ethnicity.

Vendors' Perceptions and Experiences with WIC Online Shopping Implementation.

Background: Online shopping (OS) holds promise for improving the shopping experience for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). However, little is known about vendors' perspectives on implementing OS in the context of WIC.

Objectives: The present study aimed to understand vendors' experiences, needs, and barriers to WIC OS implementation.

Advancing Nutrition and Dietetics Research in Global Food and Nutrition Security: A Roundtable Meeting Report.

Food and nutrition security remains a relevant issue globally, impacting nutritional status and other health outcomes. This is further complicated by various environmental factors that impact stable access to, availability of, and utilization of nutritious foods. Nutrition and dietetics practitioners play an important role in the identification and treatment of food and nutrition security and are also well positioned to advance research that can support food and nutrition security solutions.

Structural racism and geographic access to food retailers in the United States: A scoping review.

This scoping review summarized findings and key measures from U.S.-based studies that 1) examined associations between geographic indicators of structural racism (e.

A Mixed-Methods Study of Perceived Implementation Challenges for WIC Online Ordering and Transactions.

Background: Federal food assistance programs are working towards online grocery shopping. Online ordering in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is emerging following successful implementation in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Objective: To identify anticipated challenges, potential solutions, and expected costs of WIC online ordering.

Development of a Data Visualization Tool to Evaluate the Impact of a Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nutrition Training Program on MCH Populations.

Introduction: Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nutrition Training Programs aim to train graduate-level registered dietitian/nutritionists (RDNs) to improve the health of MCH populations. Metrics exist to evaluate the production and success of skilled graduates; however, metrics are needed regarding the reach of MCH professionals. This study aimed to develop, validate, and administer a survey to estimate the reach of a MCH Nutrition Training Program's alumni within the MCH population.

State Agencies' Perspectives on Planning and Preparing for WIC Online Ordering Implementation.

Online ordering for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) has the potential to alleviate some of the barriers faced by WIC participants when shopping with their WIC food benefits. WIC State agencies are the leaders in planning, preparing, implementing, maintaining, and expanding WIC online ordering. Cross-sectional web-based survey research was utilized to identify barriers to implementing WIC online ordering, as well as the support needed to overcome those barriers, from a WIC State agency perspective.

Navigating Hidden Hunger: An Exploratory Analysis of the Lived Experience of Food Insecurity among College Students.

College students are a vulnerable population to food insecurity (FI), which has significant implications for academic and health outcomes. The aims of this study were to explore the meaning of FI and its impact on students' lived experiences and food decisions, facilitators and barriers to food access as a student, and students' proposed solutions to address FI. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with thirty students from a large, public land grant university in the Southeast United States.

Barriers and Facilitators of Online Grocery Services: Perceptions from Rural and Urban Grocery Store Managers.

Online grocery shopping has expanded rapidly in the U.S., yet little is known about the retailer's perceptions of online grocery services, which can aid in the expansion of services.

Using Explainable Artificial Intelligence to Discover Interactions in an Ecological Model for Obesity.

Ecological theories suggest that environmental, social, and individual factors interact to cause obesity. Yet, many analytic techniques, such as multilevel modeling, require manual specification of interacting factors, making them inept in their ability to search for interactions. This paper shows evidence that an explainable artificial intelligence approach, commonly employed in genomics research, can address this problem.

Evidence of Geospatial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Access to Online Grocery Shopping for Fresh and Frozen Produce in North Carolina.

Background: Online grocery shopping is a rapidly growing food procurement approach in the United States with the potential to improve food access. Limited research has focused on understanding differential access to online grocery shopping that provides healthier items such as fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables.

Objective: The study aim was to understand geospatial, socioeconomic, and racial disparities in the availability of healthy online grocery shopping and online Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) acceptance in North Carolina.

A cross sectional assessment of basic needs insecurity prevalence and associated factors among college students enrolled at a large, public university in the Southeastern U.S.

Background: There is increasing evidence of problematic rates of food insecurity among college students, yet few studies have gone beyond this to examine housing insecurity rates or rates of basic need insecurity (BNI), which is defined as having both food and housing insecurity, among the postsecondary population. BNI may have significant impacts on the mental and social health, and academic outcomes of college students, yet remains understudied. The researchers of this study are among the first to assess the prevalence of food insecurity, housing insecurity, and basic needs insecurity among college students enrolled at a large, public university in the Southeast and to identify factors associated with experiencing food, housing, and basic needs insecurity.

Feasibility of Implementing a Food Skills Intervention.

Background: Food skills are defined as meal planning, preparation, shopping, budgeting, resourcefulness, and label reading/consumer awareness. To date, food skills have not been tested in intervention-based studies.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of implementing a food skills intervention.

Online Pilot Grocery Intervention among Rural and Urban Residents Aimed to Improve Purchasing Habits.

Online grocery shopping has the potential to improve access to food, particularly among low-income households located in urban food deserts and rural communities. The primary aim of this pilot intervention was to test whether a three-armed online grocery trial improved fruit and vegetable (F&V) purchases. Rural and urban adults across seven counties in Kentucky, Maryland, and North Carolina were recruited to participate in an 8-week intervention in fall 2021.

Struggling with the basics: food and housing insecurity among college students across twenty-two colleges and universities.

Objectives: To quantify the number and type of students failing to secure basic needs.

Participants: Students attending 22 postsecondary schools in the United States in Fall 2019.

Methods: The Adult Food Security Module and part of the #RealCollege Survey were used to measure food and housing insecurity, respectively.

Perceptions and Impact of a Youth-led Childhood Obesity Prevention Intervention among Youth-leaders.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a youth-led nutrition intervention on youth-leaders themselves.

Design: Mixed methods, including: in-depth interviews and a quasi-experimental quantitative study comparing youth-leaders and nonparticipant comparison youth.

Analysis: Qualitative analysis using direct content analysis.

Caregiver Feeding Practices as Predictors for Child Dietary Intake in Low-Income, Appalachian Communities.

The Appalachian region of the U.S. is disproportionately impacted by poverty, obesity, and nutrition-related chronic diseases.

Feasibility and Acceptability of a "Click & Collect" WIC Online Ordering Pilot.

Background: Barriers to shopping for foods in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) have been reported. Online ordering options may improve the WIC shopping experience but are understudied.

Objective: The objective of this study was to test feasibility and acceptability of a "Click & Collect" model for WIC online ordering from the perspective of WIC participants.

Food Shopping Frequency of Rural Tennessee Adults With Comparisons by Federal Nutrition Assistance Participation.

Objective: To describe food shopping frequency across 7 store types in a rural context and compare food shopping frequency between federal nutrition assistance recipients and nonrecipients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at county fairs in rural Tennessee.

Results: Reported overall mean food shopping frequency was 18.

Evaluating the implementation and impact of a healthier checkout programme at a regional convenience store chain.

Objective: To test the feasibility of implementing and evaluating a healthier checkout pilot study in a convenience store chain.

Design: A quasi-experimental study was conducted comparing a 3-month 'healthier checkouts' intervention in ten convenience stores which stocked eight healthier items in the checkout space and ten comparison stores assigned to continue stocking their current checkout space product mix. All aspects of the intervention were implemented by the retailer.