Search

Poor nutrition is the leading cause of chronic illness, which 6 of every 10 adults in the United States face. Caring for these conditions necessitates ongoing, expensive medical care, with 85% to 90% of healthcare costs attributable to chronic diseases. Recognizing this nutrition crisis, the Biden-Harris Administration hosted a historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health that took place in September 2022. This conference was the first of its kind in more than 50 years and developed an agenda around a bold goal to end hunger and increase healthy eating and physical activity by 2030. The day before the 2022 conference, the Biden-Harris Administration released a National Strategy with actions the federal government would take across 5 pillars in addition to a fact sheet detailing more than $8 billion in new commitments from nongovernmental entities. Across the 5 pillars, this article summarizes the US Department of Agriculture accomplishments during the first 2 years of implementation and concludes with ways nutrition professionals can help accelerate progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food insecurity has been a direct and almost immediate consequence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its associated ramifications on unemployment, poverty and food supply disruptions.1 As a social determinant of health, food insecurity is associated with poor health outcomes including diet-related chronic diseases, which are associated with worst COVID-19 outcomes (e.g., COVID-19 patients of all ages with obesity face higher risk of complications, death).2 In the United States (US), the federal nutrition safety net is predominantly made up of the suite of 15 federal nutrition assistance programs that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers and the Older American Act Nutrition Program that the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) administers (See Table 1).3 Both made significant adaptations to help ensure Americans have safe, secure and healthy foods and beverages during this national emergency. This essay briefly discusses the successes and shortcomings of these adaptations by critical life stages and puts forth recommendations for strengthening the public health impacts of our federal nutrition safety net in the near- and longterm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many US college students experience food insecurity (FI). Given most students are excluded from receiving federal nutrition assistance, additional efforts are needed to alleviate student FI. This perspective discusses proposed and enacted state statutes, resolutions, and bills addressing college FI to date, which range in depth, breadth, and success. Overall, states have demonstrated their promising role in addressing FI; however, college FI promises to be a continuing challenge, particularly given continued widespread unemployment that began with the onset of coronavirus disease 2019 and the global struggle for economic recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors argue on the role of dissemination and implementation science to improve public health after COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. They look at the integration and implementation of evidence-based research to federal child nutrition assistance programs during the pandemic. They conclude that it opens opportunities for public health research as its stakeholder driven, have large quantity of theories and framework, and evaluate contextual factors.

Research conducted before coronavirus disease-2019 illustrated high rates of food insecurity among college students. The pandemic has likely increased student food insecurity because of factors like unemployment and closure of campus resources, and many students cannot access federal food assistance because of long-standing student restrictions. This perspective reviews federal legislation on college food insecurity introduced in the 116th legislative session (2019–2020) immediately before coronavirus disease-2019 in the US, as well as pandemic-related stimulus bills and their implications for future policies and practice. Food insecurity promises to become more pressing as colleges try to reopen and the country grapples with economic recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The US faces remarkable food and nutrition challenges. A new federal effort to strengthen and coordinate nutrition research could rapidly generate the evidence base needed to address these multiple national challenges. However, the relevant characteristics of such an effort have been uncertain. Objectives Our aim was to provide an objective, informative summary of 1) the mounting diet-related health burdens facing our nation and corresponding economic, health equity, national security, and sustainability implications; 2) the current federal nutrition research landscape and existing mechanisms for its coordination; 3) the opportunities for and potential impact of new fundamental, clinical, public health, food and agricultural, and translational scientific discoveries; and 4) the various options for further strengthening and coordinating federal nutrition research, including corresponding advantages, disadvantages, and potential executive and legislative considerations. Methods We reviewed government and other published documents on federal nutrition research; held various discussions with expert groups, advocacy organizations, and scientific societies; and held in-person or phone meetings with >50 federal staff in executive and legislative roles, as well as with a variety of other stakeholders in academic, industry, and nongovernment organizations. Results Stark national nutrition challenges were identified. More Americans are sick than are healthy, largely from rising diet-related illnesses. These conditions create tremendous strains on productivity, health care costs, health disparities, government budgets, US economic competitiveness, and military readiness. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has further laid bare these strains, including food insecurity, major diet-related comorbidities for poor outcomes from COVID-19 such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity, and insufficient surveillance on and coordination of our food system. More than 10 federal departments and agencies currently invest in critical nutrition research, yet with relatively flat investments over several decades. Coordination also remains suboptimal, documented by multiple governmental reports over 50 years. Greater harmonization and expansion of federal investment in nutrition science, not a silo-ing or rearrangement of existing investments, has tremendous potential to generate new discoveries to improve and sustain the health of all Americans. Two identified key strategies to achieve this were as follows: 1) a new authority for robust cross-governmental coordination of nutrition research and other nutrition-related policy and 2) strengthened authority, investment, and coordination for nutrition research within the NIH. These strategies were found to be complementary, together catalyzing important new science, partnerships, coordination, and returns on investment. Additional complementary actions to accelerate federal nutrition research were identified at the USDA. Conclusions The need and opportunities for strengthened federal nutrition research are clear, with specific identified options to help create the new leadership, strategic planning, coordination, and investment the nation requires to address the multiple nutrition-related challenges and grasp the opportunities before us. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of the US Department of Agriculture Summer Meals Program (SMP) and highlights opportunities to strengthen SMP's public health impacts. We also discuss initial SMP implications of 2 relevant policy provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (P.L. 116-127), signed into law on March 18, 2020. Ensuring access to summer meals among high-risk students can provide (1) supplemental nutrition assistance to families that helps address food insecurity during the summer months when there are no school meals, (2) healthymeals in structured settings that might help reduce obesity risk, and (3) support to other programs that offer other benefits such as education, physical activity, or job training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the cornerstone of the US nutrition safety net. Each month, SNAP provides assistance to 40 million low-income Americans-nearly half of them children. A number of changes could strengthen the public health impacts of SNAP. This review first presents a framework describing the mechanisms through which SNAP policy can influence public health, particularly by affecting the food security, the diet quality, and, subsequently, the health of SNAP participants. We then discusspolicy opportunities with the greatest potential to strengthen the public health impacts of SNAP, organized into three areas: (a) food production and distribution, (b) benefit allocation, and (c) eligibility and enrollment. For each section, we describe current policy and limitations of the status quo, suggest evidence-based opportunities for policy change to improve public health, and identify important areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary provides a brief overview of the historical, contemporary, and potential future approaches for using policy, systems changes, and environmental supports (PSE) to address food insecurity in the United States. We reflect on and integrate where possible the findings put forth in the other 16 papers included in the Translational Behavioral Medicine Special Issue entitled: Food Access Among Low-Income Populations: Understanding the Potential Intersect of Diet, Obesity, Food Insecurity, and Hunger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Until recently, lawfully present noncitizens participating in the US Department of Agriculture Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly Food Stamps) faced no immigration consequences. However, in September, 2018, the Trump Administration proposed a more expansive public charge rule in the Federal Register that would deny lawfully present noncitizens a path to citizenship if they had participated in certain federal safety net programs, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. This perspective discusses the proposed rule's implications, particularly for those with professional interests in promoting effective nutrition education and healthy behavior through research, policy, and practice among individuals who will potentially be affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than forty years, the United States Department of Agriculture Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; formerly Food Stamps) has offered nutrition assistance to nearly forty million eligible individuals and families each month. This article first provides a brief overview of the evolution of the United States' largest domestic food security and nutrition safety net program. Then, the article reviews Congressional actions taken regarding SNAP during the 2018 Farm Bill deliberations, appropriations for fiscal years 2017 through 2020, and oversight (in)activities. The article focuses on Congressional activities regarding block grants; participant eligibility; benefit adequacy, issuance, and redemption; and strengthening SNAP's nutritional impacts. Next, the article discusses a variety of executive orders, administrative actions, initiatives, nominations, budget proposals, and tweets with SNAP implications put forth thus far by President Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States. These actions include the America's Harvest Box, natural disaster responses, the public charge rule, tariffs on Chinese imports, and various agency relocations and reorganizations. The article reflects on how each of these legislative and executive developments might impact SNAP's organization, operations at the federal, tribal, state and retailer levels, and, ultimately, eating patterns and health of participating and eligible children and families, persons with disabilities, and elders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the advances in food security and sustainability. Topics include inclusion of any material in section imply endorsement by the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior; and abstracts are either prepared by the reviewer or extracted from the product literature with Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior.

In this article the author talks about Food and nutrition professionals are on the frontlines of COVID-19's various impacts and are vital for ensuring the implementation of these important initial provisions at the federal, tribal, state, and local levels. It mentions that an effective action taken by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–supported Nutrition and Obesity Policy and Research Evaluation Network, which formed an ad hoc working group on the COVID-19 response.

Food and nutrition security is crucial for health, but many U.S. households experience food insecurity. This systematic review conducted in support of the Community Preventive Services Task Force examines the effectiveness of Fruit and Vegetable Incentive programs in reducing food insecurity, increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, and improving health outcomes among households with lower incomes. Community Guide systematic review methods were applied. Studies were identified through a literature search (inception of each database to February 2023). U.S. studies were included if they evaluated programs offering participants financial incentives to purchase fruit and vegetables; were designed for or implemented among populations with lower incomes; reported health-related outcomes; and were published in English as peer-reviewed articles or government reports. This review included 30 studies. Thirteen of 14 datapoints from 12 studies indicated FVI programs reduced household food insecurity. Twenty-one of 29 datapoints from 23 studies showed increased FV consumption. Programs providing incentives to participants at risk for or with diet-related health conditions improved blood glucose levels by a median of 0.64 percentage points. Based on the review findings, the Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends Fruit and Vegetable Incentive programs for populations with lower incomes to reduce household food insecurity, increase household fruit and vegetable consumption, and improve blood glucose levels in participants at risk for or with diet-related health conditions. Although the review did not find direct evidence of reducing health disparities, the Community Preventive Services Task Force expects that these programs will improve health equity across the U.S. by improving the affordability and accessibility of healthier foods for households with lower incomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]