Challenges and barriers to WIC participation vary by participation status and language: Findings from focus groups in Missouri.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is one of the largest federal food and nutrition program serving women and young children and has a low coverage rate of about 50 percent. There is no peer-reviewed article that compares maternal perceptions of challenges and barriers to WIC participation by language and participation status. We compare challenges and barriers faced by English-speaking mothers to those faced by Spanish-speaking mothers to enrollment and retention in WIC within each group: current participants (n = 43), prior participants (dropouts; n = 27), and eligible non-participants (n = 18), using focus groups we conducted in Missouri in 2021-2023.

Food for thought: The impact of short term fasting on cognitive ability.

Growing evidence suggests that resource scarcity can severely impede individuals' cognitive capacity, resulting in sub-optimal decision making. Few experimental studies investigate whether food deprivation as a form of resource scarcity influences decisions in other non-hunger related domains. We examine the effect of short term fasting on cognitive capacity by exogenously manipulating individuals' fasting time in a laboratory experiment.

Nudging consumers about the issue of microplastics: an experimental auction study on valuation for sustainable food packaging.

Plastic, integral to food packaging since the 1950s, has become a global environmental concern due to its contribution to microplastic pollution. Microplastics harm ecosystems, impacting wildlife and human health. Amid increasing focus on sustainability, global initiatives target sustainable production and consumption, but consumers struggle to verify product claims, leading to potential greenwashing, particularly in the food industry.

Microplastics in seafood: Consumer preferences and valuation for mitigation technologies.

Microplastics, an emerging pollutant, have garnered widespread attention due to potential repercussions on human health and the environment. Given the critical role of seafood in food security, growing concerns about microplastics might be detrimental to meeting future global food demand. This study employed a discrete choice experiment to investigate Chilean consumers' preferences for technology aimed at mitigating microplastic levels in mussels.

The mental burden of stay-at-home order extensions during COVID-19.

This study evaluates the psychological impact of stay-at-home extension orders during COVID-19 and its relationship with individuals' expectations on the duration of the extensions. An online survey was administered to 1259 US adult residents to measure symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and stress induced by different stay-at-home order extensions using hypothetical length scenarios. We find that individuals exposed to two 2-week order extensions exhibit higher levels of stress and anxiety compared to those exposed to a single 4-week extension.

Effect of saline intrusion on rice production in the Mekong River Delta.

Saline intrusion is increasingly threatening the rice farming system in The Mekong River Delta (MRD). Identifying the impact of this disaster on rice farming and providing promptly adaptable solutions is an urgent issue. This study evaluates the influence of saline intrusion on rice productivity of households in the MRD.

Did mental and emotional health of SNAP families' children improve during the COVID-19 pandemic?

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected low-income households in the United States. As part of the government's response to the pandemic, households with children participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefited from several temporary provisions. This study examines whether the mental/emotional well-being of children in SNAP families was influenced by the SNAP temporary provisions, overall and across subpopulations by race/ethnicity and school meal programs (SMP) participation status of children.

US workers' willingness to accept meatpacking jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

We implement a discrete choice experiment to examine the impact of COVID-19 exposure risk, unemployment risk, enhanced and extended unemployment benefits, and job attributes on low-skilled workers' willingness to accept (WTA) meatpacking jobs. With a sample average WTA wage of $22.77/h, the current national average meatpacking wage of approximately $15/h is too low for these workers to consider this employment opportunity.

Health versus income amid COVID-19: What do people value more?

Public efforts to battle COVID-19 have been portrayed as a trade-off between health and the economy in the U.S. public discourse.

Evaluation of Delivering Breakfast After the Bell and Academic Performance Among Third-Grade Children: An Application of the Synthetic Control Method.

Background: Breakfast after the bell (BAB), an alternative way to deliver breakfast after the school day begins, has been shown to increase participation in the School Breakfast Program. However, BAB occupies time that could otherwise be used for instruction and may affect academic performance. This study examined whether BAB affects math and literacy scores in third grade, an age not adequately studied in earlier literature.

Impact of Weight Status Reporting on Childhood Body Mass Index.

Many states have adopted school-based BMI screening or surveillance programs in an effort to address high rates of childhood obesity, some of which involve provision of confidential BMI reports to parents. While there is evidence that parents are attuned to information in the reports, there is less evidence showing that the reports are effective in preventing excess childhood weight gain. Data from Arkansas, the state with the nation's first and longest running and BMI screening program, were used to measure the impact of BMI reports.

The effect of gender-specific labor market conditions on children's weight.

Background: Macroeconomic conditions are widely known to influence health outcomes through direct behavioral change or indirect mental effects of individuals. However, they have not received much attention in relation to childhood obesity.

Methods: Using gender-specific predicted employment growth rates as an index for labor market conditions, we analyze how economic shocks affect children's weight status in Arkansas.

The Influence of a Climate Change Narrative on the Stated Preferences for Long-term Groundwater Management.

The literature identifies cultural values and beliefs as key drivers of climate change risk perception, but evidence is lacking about how media narratives and cultural values influence preferences for adapting to environmental consequences of climate change, including groundwater shortage. We elicited groundwater preferences using a choice experiment survey involving outcomes of the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer. We randomly assigned respondents to an individualistic cultural narrative about climate change to test for framing effects predicted by culturally congruent and incongruent messaging.

Understanding the importance and timing of panic buying among U.S. Households during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The surge in panic buying during the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led to a temporary shortage of several staples and basic supplies in grocery stores, thus limiting the public's access to basic needs and exacerbating stress and anxiety. The negative societal consequences of panic buying highlight the importance of understanding and planning for such behavior. This study investigates the main factors that correlate with the perceived importance and timing of panic buying decisions in the US.

On the stability of risk and time preferences amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unlabelled: We elicited incentivized measures of risk and time preferences from a sample of undergraduate students in Athens, Greece, in waves that preceded and overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic. We exploited the timing of several events that occurred in the course of the pandemic (e.g.

Promoting higher social distancing and stay-at-home decisions during COVID-19: The underlying conflict between public health and the economy.

Social distancing and stay-at-home orders were implemented as a quick response to the public health crisis created by COVID-19. However, these measures led to competing concerns for public health versus the wellbeing of the economy during the pandemic. This drove polarized views and attitudes towards these measures in the US that threatened their effectiveness in controlling the spread of infections.

Food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from a survey of low-income Americans.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased food insecurity despite emergency legislation that put more resources into food assistance programs, increased unemployment benefits, and provided stimulus payments. We conducted a survey in the US on food insecurity among low-income Americans during the early months of the pandemic. While we cannot estimate causal effects, we are able to show important associations between food insecurity and nutritional and economic assistance that highlight the need to ensure that those newly at risk for food insecurity are able to connect to resources.

The association between food insecurity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To explore the association between food insecurity and mental health outcomes among low-income Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We conducted a survey of 2714 low-income respondents nationwide from June 29, 2020 to July 21, 2020. A proportional odds logit model was employed to estimate the associations between food insecurity and anxiety and between food insecurity and depression.

A longitudinal analysis of fast-food exposure on child weight outcomes: Identifying causality through school transitions.

This article investigates the effect of fast-food availability on childhood weight outcomes by gender, race, and location. We use a novel identification strategy based on changes in fast-food exposure along the route between the home and school that occur as students progress through the public school system and transition to different types of schools, e.g.

Use of Machine Learning to Determine the Information Value of a BMI Screening Program.

Introduction: Childhood obesity continues to be a significant public health issue in the U.S. and is associated with short- and long-term adverse health outcomes.

General Public Preferences for Allocating Scarce Medical Resources During COVID-19.

COVID-19 has overwhelmed healthcare systems across the globe with an unprecedented surge in the demand for hospitalizations. Consequently, many hospitals are facing precarious conditions due to limited capacity, especially in the provision of ventilators. The governing ethical principles of medical practice delineated in (1) favor prioritizing younger patients, largely because of their relatively higher expected life years.

Consumer Comprehension of the Nutrition Facts Label: A Comparison of the Original and Updated Labels.

Purpose: Compare consumers' overall label comprehension of the original Nutrition Facts (NF) label with the updated label.

Design: Online survey conducted in 2019. Participants randomly assigned to original label, updated-single column, or updated-dual column labeling condition and asked to complete a series of label comprehension questions.

Impact of Covid-19 on Household Food Waste: The Case of Italy.

Covid-19 has significantly affected people's food purchasing and consumption habits. Fears of disruptions in the food supply chain have caused an increase in the quantity and type of food bought by households. However, increases in food purchases could give rise to food waste with negative ramifications for the environment in terms of greenhouse emissions and groundwater pollution.

Labor Issues in the Food Supply Chain Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The impacts of COVID-19 on labor in the food supply chain and on workers' decisions to accept essential jobs are discussed. We then analyze surveys administered to low-skilled domestic workers before and during the pandemic to assess respondents' attitudes toward food production, guest workers, immigration policy, and the government's response to COVID-19. Results suggest the outbreak resulted in respondents, on average, shifting their view toward food being a national security issue and a higher degree of empathy for H-2A workers.

Agent-based modeling insights into the optimal distribution of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.

The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) program provides a free fresh fruit or vegetable snack to children in low-income schools between two and five times a week. This is an important nationwide program, but current funding levels are insufficient to reach all eligible schools. Thus, there is a need to develop insight on contextual factors that may impact the effectiveness of FFVP in facilitating the development of childhood food preferences.