SNAP Online Food Shopping: Nutrition Education Needs Perceived by Practitioners.

The change in policy that allowed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients to redeem their benefits online during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic highlighted the potential role of nutrition education programs in facilitating the purchase of healthy, economical food online. The objective of this exploratory qualitative study was to understand the education provided by nutrition educators on online grocery shopping and educators' perspectives on education needs and ways that healthy purchases can be encouraged online. Interviews revealed topics that can be included in in-person education on online shopping, insights for online nutrition education, and promotion strategies for encouraging healthy purchases by low-income shoppers online.

Assessing and Monitoring Nutrition Security in the United States: A Narrative Review of Current Measures and Instruments.

Purpose Of Review: Because nutrition plays a crucial role in the development of chronic diseases, ensuring nutrition security is important for promoting population health. Nutrition security is defined as having consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, affordable foods essential to optimal health and well-being. Distinguished from food security, nutrition security consists of two constructs: healthy diets and nutritional status.

School Meal Nutrition Standards Reduce Disparities Across Income and Race/Ethnicity.

Introduction: Children's diets in the U.S. typically fail to meet dietary recommendations, contributing to associated adverse health outcomes.

Assessing and Monitoring Nutrition Security to Promote Healthy Dietary Intake and Outcomes in the United States.

The US Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service leads the federal government in data development and research on food security in US households. Nutrition security is an emerging concept that, although closely related, is distinct from food security. No standard conceptualization or measure of nutrition security currently exists.

Factors That Influence Children's Exits from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children: A Systematic Review.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides supplemental foods and nutritional education to low-income women and children up to the age of five. Despite evidence that WIC improves diet and nutrition and the nationwide availability of this program, many participants exit WIC before they are no longer eligible for benefits. To date no study has systematically reviewed factors that influence participants' exits from WIC.

Breastfeeding Initiation Trends by Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Participation and Race/Ethnicity Among Medicaid Births.

Objective: Describe long-term breastfeeding initiation trends by prenatal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participation and race/ethnicity.

Design: Cross-sectional study of birth certificate data from 2009 to 2017 in 24 states that adopted the 2003 birth certificate revision by 2009.

Participants: Term births with hospital costs covered by Medicaid (N = 6,402,704).

Prenatal Perception of WIC Breastfeeding Recommendations Predicts Breastfeeding Exclusivity and Duration in the Infants' First Year.

Background: Pregnant participants who perceived that the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) recommends breastfeeding only were more likely to have better early breastfeeding outcomes.

Objectives: Our objective was to examine the association between prenatal perception of WIC's breastfeeding recommendations and breastfeeding duration through the first year of infant life.

Methods: This observational study used a national longitudinal sample of 1594 pregnant participants in the WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 in 2013.

The impact of a healthy checkout intervention on fruit and vegetable 'micro-pack' purchases in New Mexico.

Objective: Produce sold as plastic-wrapped packs of two to four individual items (i.e., produce micro-packs) that are low cost and placed at checkout may appeal to shoppers with budget constraints and provide a second chance to purchase items available elsewhere in the store.

Prenatal perception of breastfeeding recommendations predicts early breastfeeding outcomes of participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Background: Prenatal psychosocial factors predict breastfeeding practices but are not assessed in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Objectives: This study examined how prenatal perceptions of WIC's breastfeeding recommendations were associated with early breastfeeding outcomes.

Methods: This study used longitudinal data from a national sample of 2053 pregnant participants in the WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 (WIC ITFPS-2) in 2013, the only national data assessing prenatal perceptions of WIC's breastfeeding recommendations.

Associations among Food Security, School Meal Participation, and Students' Diet Quality in the First School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 updated the nutrition standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs (NSLP and SBP) and expanded universal free meals' availability in low-income schools. Past studies have shown that school meals are an important resource for children in food-insecure households. This analysis used data from the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study to classify students as food insecure (FI), marginally secure (MS), or food secure (FS).

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children is Associated with Several Changes in Nutrient Intakes and Food Consumption Patterns of Participating Infants and Young Children, 2008 Compared with 2016.

Background: In 2009 the USDA's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) updated the food packages provided to participants.

Objectives: This study investigates associations between WIC participation and nutrients and food groups consumed using data from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study's 2008 and 2016 nationwide, cross-sectional surveys of children <4 y, weighted to be representative of the US population.

Methods: The study data included 2892 children aged 6-47.

Low-Income Parents' Use of Front-of-Package Nutrition Labels in a Virtual Supermarket.

Objective: To examine the impact front-of-package nutrition labels (FOPLs) have on decision-making abilities among low-income parents in a virtual supermarket.

Design: A 4-by-2 experimental design with 3 FOPLs (summary, nutrient-specific, hybrid) and a no-FOPL comparison. Within the FOPL condition, participants either shopped with a time limit (10 minutes) or with no time limit.

Online Grocery Shopping Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Among SNAP Participants.

Objective: To inform policy proposals to allow online grocery shopping with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by examining relevant behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes of SNAP recipients.

Methods: This qualitative study used a purposive recruitment strategy to conduct 4 1-hour focus groups in Las Cruces, NM. Participants were SNAP recipients who do the grocery shopping for their families.

Community eligibility and other provisions for universal free meals at school: impact on student breakfast and lunch participation in California public schools.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) school meal programs are an important part of the safety net for reducing food insecurity, yet not all students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals participate. In 2014-2015, the Community Eligibility Provision became available nationwide. This provision, along with Provisions 1, 2, and 3 of the USDA school meals programs, allows local school food authorities to offer universal free meals at schools with high student poverty.

Dietary Guidance and New School Meal Standards: Schoolchildren's Whole Grain Consumption Over 1994-2014.

Introduction: Since 2005, the federal government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans have recommended at least half of total grain intake be whole grains. Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the U.S.

Identifying gaps in the food security safety net: the characteristics and availability of summer nutrition programmes in California, USA.

Objective: The US Department of Agriculture's Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer Option (summer nutrition programmes (SNP)) aim to relieve food insecurity for children and teens during summer months. More needs to be known about when and where SNP are available, and how availability varies by community characteristics, particularly in rural areas where food insecurity and reduced food access are more prevalent.

Design: The present study examined the geographic availability of SNP and summer meal uptake rates in 2016, using state-wide administrative claims data.

WIC and non-WIC Infants and Children Differ in Usage of Some WIC-Provided Foods.

Background: USDA's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides expert-chosen supplemental foods to improve the diets and health of low-income infants and children <5 y of age, but dietary behaviors of WIC participants are not well characterized.

Objective: The purpose of this analysis was to examine differences in food consumption patterns between WIC participants and nonparticipants.

Methods: FITS 2016 is a nationwide cross-sectional study of children <4 y (n = 3235).

Integrating Behavioral Economics into Nutrition Education Research and Practice.

Nutrition education has a long history of being informed by economic thinking, with the earliest nutrition education guides incorporating household food budgeting into nutrition advice. Behavioral economics research goes beyond that traditional role to provide new insights into how consumers make choices. These insights have numerous potential applications for nutrition interventions to promote healthy food choices consistent with the US Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Nutrition Assistance Programs: Cause or Solution to Obesity.

Three nutrition assistance programs-Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and National School Lunch Program (NSLP)-serve as the backbone of the nutrition safety net in the USA. These programs have been successful in achieving many of their initial goals of improving food purchases, food intake, and/or nutritional status of low-income, vulnerable Americans. The emphasis in these programs has now broadened to also include an obesity prevention focus.

Food Away from Home and Childhood Obesity.

Childhood obesity is associated with a number of serious health risks that can persist into adulthood. While trends in food away from home and fast-food consumption have paralleled trends in childhood obesity, it is important to identify whether this is a causal relationship. This paper reviews recent literature in this area to summarize if there is a consensus in research findings.

Impact on energy, sodium and dietary fibre intakes of vegetables prepared at home and away from home in the U.S.A.

Objective: To examine how increasing vegetable consumption from foods prepared at home (FAH) and foods prepared away from home (FAFH) would impact energy, dietary fibre and Na (sodium) intakes in the U.S.A.