Capacity, Communication, and Coordination Are Key to Successful Implementation of Policy, Systems, and Environmental Strategies at SNAP-Ed Partner Sites in One Southeastern US State: A Qualitative Approach.

Background: The United States Department of Agriculture expanded the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-Ed program to all 50 states in 2004. In 2010, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act required that agencies implementing SNAP-Ed support policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies, in addition to providing direct education (DE). Research has evaluated the impact of PSEs on health, but few studies have investigated the process of PSE implementation.

Stretching Food and Being Creative: Caregiver Responses to Child Food Insecurity.

Objective: To examine the strategies and behaviors caregivers use to manage the household food supply when their children experience food insecurity as measured by the US Department of Agriculture's Household Food Security Survey Module.

Design: Cross-sectional survey with open-ended questions collected in person.

Setting: Urban and nonurban areas, South Carolina, US.

"What do you think of when I say the word 'snack'?" Towards a cohesive definition among low-income caregivers of preschool-age children.

Despite agreement that snacks contribute significant energy to children's diets, evidence of the effects of snacks on health, especially in children, is weak. Some of the lack of consistent evidence may be due to a non-standardized definition of snacks. Understanding how caregivers of preschool-aged children conceptualize and define child snacks could provide valuable insights on epidemiological findings, targets for anticipatory guidance, and prevention efforts.

Parenting around child snacking: development of a theoretically-guided, empirically informed conceptual model.

Background: Snacking contributes to excessive energy intakes in children. Yet factors shaping child snacking are virtually unstudied. This study examines food parenting practices specific to child snacking among low-income caregivers.