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There is a debate in the literature about whether one can address food system problems with market-based approaches while seeking food justice or food sovereignty. However, as part of a team of researchers and community leaders, we have found that this debate is less relevant in practice. The concepts are interrelated within real-world food systems. As such, we were motivated to ask, how do social enterprises (SEs) interact with food justice and food sovereignty movements and their visions in order to realize more democratic and equitable local food systems in communities? To answer this question, we conducted a systematic review at the intersection of SE, food sovereignty, and food justice literature. Analyzing nine articles, which included 17 food-related SEs, we found evidence of potential interactions between food SEs, food justice, and food sovereignty that are compatible (e.g., create employment) and incompatible (e.g., limited ability to address issues like community employability and green gentrification). The literature includes at least three important characteristics that inform how food-related SEs may interact with food justice and sovereignty, including employee and ownership demographics, the enterprise business model, and aspects of the food system targeted by the enterprise via market activities. If we consider a systems perspective, we can envision the ways in which the aspects are embedded and interdependent in a neoliberal society. SEs, as market-based agents for social change, exist in the same system as justice and sovereignty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food insecurity affects one fifth of U.S. households with children and tends to be associated with low income, minority race/ethnicity, and low educational attainment—difficult groups to recruit to population-based studies. We present successful recruitment strategies and participation data after enrolling 544 participants encompassing 3 food security categories from 4 types of food venues throughout South Carolina. Eligible persons were most likely to participate if they had lower food security, lived in an urban area, and were recruited over the phone. In multivariate logistic models, participation predictors were screening mode and recruitment site, with the highest yield at family-oriented emergency food assistance sites. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background Recent evidence indicates a widening gap in fruit and vegetable (F/V) consumption between high- and low-income Americans. This gap is related, in part, to decreased access to food retailers that sell fresh F/V in low-income communities. Farmers’ markets are identified as a strategy for improving F/V consumption by increasing access to these foods. Objectives The aim of this systematic review was to examine literature published from 1994 to 2014 to identify facilitators and barriers of farmers’ markets use, particularly among low-income consumers. Design Peer-reviewed literature was identified in Ebsco Host (Academic Search Complete). Inclusion criteria for abstract review was primary research focused on farmers’ market use identifying 87 studies for full-text review. Full-text review identified articles focused on facilitators and/or barriers of farmers’ market use resulting in 49 articles. At least two reviewers completed review of all articles. Results Of the 49 articles, 39% specified inclusion of low-income consumers and fewer than 15% focused on racial and ethnic minorities. Few studies were guided by theory and/or used standardized metrics. Results indicate farmers’ market use is influenced by multiple economic, service delivery, spatial-temporal, social, and personal factors. Among studies that included low-income populations (n=19), key barriers to farmers’ market use were perceptions that food assistance benefits were not accepted, belief that food variety at farmers’ markets was limited, lack of access to transportation, lack of racial/ethnic diversity in the market space, and mismatch between markets and personal lifestyles. There is wide variation in study design and reporting standards and infrequent use of standardized measures limiting comparisons across studies. Conclusions There is a need to establish valid and reliable metrics and reporting standards for evaluating farmers’ markets. Findings may inform interventions, programs, and policies to promote farmers’ market use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Afterschool programs (ASPs) have potential to provide children moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The availability and types (e.g., free play or organized activities) of physical activity opportunities, their structure (e.g., presence of lines, elimination games), and staff behaviors (e.g., encouragement, engaged) can influence children’s MVPA. This study explored these factors in 20 ASPs serving over 1,700 elementary-age children. The occurrence, types, and structure of physical activity opportunities, and staff behaviors were collected via the SOSPAN (System for Observing Staff Promotion of Physical Activity and Nutrition). A total of 4,660 SOSPAN scans were completed across 63 complete program days (1,733 during physical activity opportunities). Physical activity opportunities were observed on 60 program days across all 20 sites, with 73% of those opportunities classified as free play. ASPs scheduled an average of 66.3 minutes (range 15-150 minutes) of physical activity opportunities daily. Games played included basketball, tag, soccer, and football. Staff rarely engaged in physical activity promotion behaviors, and the structure of organized games discouraged MVPA. For example, staff verbally promoted physical activity in just 6.1% of scans, while organized games were more likely to involve lines and elimination. Professional development training may enhance staffs’ physical activity promotion and the structure of activity opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program was designed to prevent food insecurity among low-income Americans and has been linked to improvements in pregnancy health, long-term child development, and criminal recidivism. However, the pursuit of food security does not ensure nutritional sufficiency, and the program has not improved diet quality or cardiometabolic mortality (i.e., heart disease, stroke, diabetes). In this study, longitudinal cohort data are used to identify by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program status the proinflammatory characteristics that predispose to chronic disease.Methods: Between 2015 and 2018, annual 24-hour dietary recalls were conducted with 409 residents from low-income, urban neighborhoods in Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio (statistical analysis started in 2019). The Dietary Inflammatory Index was calculated. It provides empirically validated estimates of the internal inflammation that each diet should produce; higher Dietary Inflammatory Index scores have been associated with elevated inflammatory biomarkers. Finally, associations between Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Dietary Inflammatory Index were evaluated, and dietary components that differed by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program status were identified.Results: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients had higher Dietary Inflammatory Index scores (+0.40, 95% CI=0.09, 0.70) and a consistently lower intake of 4 anti-inflammatory nutrients (dietary fiber, β-carotene, magnesium, vitamin E) than nonrecipients. Vitamin D intake did not differ by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program status but was well below the Recommended Daily Allowance in this sample.Conclusions: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients had elevated Dietary Inflammatory Index scores, implying higher diet-driven inflammation. This was due, in part, to low intake of 4 anti-inflammatory food components, which were higher yet still nutritionally insufficient among nonrecipients. Findings highlight specific nutritional targets for improving public health through dietary change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Across the U.S., afterschool programs (ASPs, 3:00pm-6:00pm) are trying to achieve nationally endorsed nutrition standards (Healthy Eating Standards) calling for fruits/vegetables and water to be served every day, while eliminating sugar-sweetened beverages and foods. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the 2-year changes in the types of foods and beverages served during a community-based intervention designed to achieve the Healthy Eating Standards.Study Design: Randomized delayed treatment trial with an immediate (1-year baseline and 2-year intervention) or delayed (2-year baseline and 1-year intervention) group.Setting/participants: Twenty ASPs serving 1,700 children (aged 5-12 years) were recruited, with baseline occurring spring 2013, and outcome assessment occurring spring 2014 and 2015.Intervention: The multistep intervention, Strategies To Enhance Practice for Healthy Eating, assisted ASP leaders/staff to serve foods/beverages that meet the nutrition standards.Main Outcome Measures: The foods and beverages served for snack were observed directly.Results: Compared with non-intervention years, both the immediate and delayed groups increased the number of days/week that fruits/vegetables (0.6 vs 1.7 days/week and 0.6 vs 4.4 days/week, OR=3.80, 95% CI=1.45, 9.95) and water (2.3 vs 3.7 days/week and 2.7 vs 4.8 days/week, OR=4.65, 95% CI=1.69, 12.79) were served. Sugar-sweetened beverages were almost eliminated by post-assessment (1.2 vs 0.2 days/week and 3.2 vs 0.0 days/week, OR=0.05, 95% CI=0.02, 0.13). Only the immediate group decreased the number of days/week desserts were served (2.9 vs 0.6 days/week, OR=0.10, 95% CI=0.03, 0.33). Implementation barriers for the delayed group included once/month delivery schedules for fruits/vegetables and limited storage space for foods meeting the Healthy Eating Standards.Conclusions: Improvements in the foods/beverages served in ASPs can be made, yet were hindered by structural barriers related to procurement and storage of perishable foods. Additional efforts are needed to support ASPs as they work toward fully achieving the Healthy Eating Standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate an intervention designed to assist after-school programs (ASPs) in meeting snack nutrition policies that specify that a fruit or vegetable be served daily and sugar-sweetened beverages/foods and artificially flavored foods eliminated.Design: The study used a 1-year group-randomized controlled trial.Setting: The study took place in ASPs operating in South Carolina, United States.Subjects: Twenty ASPs serving over 1700 children were recruited, match-paired postbaseline on enrollment size and days fruits/vegetables were served per week, and randomized to either intervention (n = 10) or control (n = 10) groups.Intervention: The study used Strategies To Enhance Practice for Healthy Eating (STEPs-HE), a multistep adaptive intervention framework that assists ASP leaders and staff to serve snacks that meet nutrition policies while maintaining cost.Measures: Direct observation of snacks served and consumed and monthly snack expenditures as determined by receipts were used.Analysis: The study used nonparametric and mixed-model repeated measures.Results: By postassessment, intervention ASPs increased serving of fruits/vegetables to 3.9 ± 2.1 vs. 0.7 ± 1.7 d/wk and decreased serving sugar-sweetened beverages to 0.1 ± 0.7 vs. 1.8 ± 2.4 d/wk and sugar-sweetened foods to 0.3 ± 1.1 vs. 2.7 ± 2.5 d/wk compared to controls, respectively. Cost of snacks increased by $0.02/snack in the intervention ASPs ($0.36 to $0.38) compared to a $0.01 per snack decrease in the control group ($0.39 to $0.38). Across both assessments and groups, 80% to 100% of children consumed FVs.Conclusions: The STEPs-HE intervention can assist ASPs in meeting nationally endorsed nutrition policies with marginal increases in cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction In the U.S., afterschool programs are asked to promote moderate to vigorous physical activity. One policy that has considerable public health importance is California’s afterschool physical activity guidelines that indicate all children attending an afterschool program accumulate 30 minutes each day the program is operating. Few effective strategies exist for afterschool programs to meet this policy goal. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a multistep adaptive intervention designed to assist afterschool programs in meeting the 30-minute/day moderate to vigorous physical activity policy goal. Design A 1-year group randomized controlled trial with baseline (spring 2013) and post-assessment (spring 2014). Data were analyzed 2014. Setting/participants Twenty afterschool programs, serving >1,700 children (aged 6–12 years), randomized to either an intervention ( n =10) or control ( n =10) group. Intervention The employed framework, Strategies To Enhance Practice, focused on intentional programming of physical activity opportunities in each afterschool program’s daily schedule and included professional development training to establish core physical activity competencies of staff and afterschool program leaders with ongoing technical assistance. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was accelerometry-derived proportion of children meeting the 30-minute/day moderate to vigorous physical activity policy. Results Children attending intervention afterschool programs had an OR of 2.37 (95% CI=1.58, 3.54) to achieve the physical activity policy at post-assessment compared to control afterschool programs. Sex-specific models indicated that the percentage of intervention girls and boys achieving the physical activity policy increased from 16.7% to 21.4% (OR=2.85, 95% CI=1.43, 5.68) and 34.2% to 41.6% (OR=2.26, 95% CI=1.35, 3.80), respectively. At post-assessment, six intervention afterschool programs increased the proportion of boys achieving the physical activity policy to ≥45% compared to one control afterschool program, whereas three intervention afterschool programs increased the proportion of girls achieving physical activity policy to ≥30% compared to no control afterschool programs. Conclusions The Strategies To Enhance Practice intervention can make meaningful changes in the proportion of children meeting the moderate to vigorous physical activity policy within one school year. Additional efforts are required to enhance the impact of the intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opioid overdose deaths are dramatically increasing in the United States and disproportionately affecting minority communities, with the increasing presence of fentanyl exacerbating this crisis. Developing community coalitions is a long-standing strategy used to address public health issues. However, there is a limited understanding of how coalitions operate amid a serious public health crisis. To address this gap, we leveraged data from the HEALing Communities Study (HCS)-a multisite implementation study aiming to reduce opioid overdose deaths in 67 communities. Researchers analyzed transcripts of 321 qualitative interviews conducted with members of 56 coalitions in the four states participating in the HCS. There were no a priori interests in themes, and emergent themes were identified through inductive thematic analysis and then mapped to the constructs of the Community Coalition Action Theory (CCAT). Themes emerged related to coalition development and highlighted the role of health equity in the inner workings of coalitions addressing the opioid epidemic. Coalition members reported seeing the lack of racial and ethnic diversity within their coalitions as a barrier to their work. However, when coalitions focused on health equity, they noted that their effectiveness and ability to tailor their initiatives to their communities' needs were strengthened. Based on our findings, we suggest two additions to enhance the CCAT: (a) incorporating health equity as an overarching construct that affects all stages of development, and (b) ensuring that data about individuals served are included within the pooled resource construct to enable monitoring of health equity., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) improve access to care for important health services (e.g., preventive care), particularly among marginalized and underserved communities. However, whether spatial availability of FQHCs influences care-seeking behavior for medically underserved residents is unclear. The objective of this study was to examine the relationships of present-day zip-code level availability of FQHCs, historic redlining, and health services utilization (i.e., at FQHCs and any health clinic/facility) in six large states. We further examined these associations by states, FQHC availability (i.e., 1, 2-4 and ≥5 FQHC sites per zip code) and geographic areas (i.e., urbanized vs. rural, redlined vs. non-redlined sections of urban areas). Using Poisson and multivariate regression models, we found that in medically underserved areas, having at least one FQHC site was associated with greater likelihood of patients seeking health services at FQHCs [rate ratio (RR) = 3.27, 95%CI: 2.27-4.70] than areas with no FQHCs available, varying across states (RRs = 1.12 to 6.33). Relationships were stronger in zip codes with ≥5 FQHC sites, small towns, metropolitan areas, and redlined sections of urban areas (HOLC D-grade vs. C-grade: RR = 1.24, 95%CI: 1.21-1.27). However, these relationships did not remain true for routine care visits at any health clinic or facility (β = -0.122; p = 0.008) or with worsening HOLC grades (β = -0.082; p = 0.750), potentially due to the contextual factors associated with FQHC locations. Findings suggest that efforts to expand FQHCs may be most impactful for medically underserved residents living in small towns, metropolitan areas and redlined sections of urban areas. Because FQHCs can provide high quality, culturally competent, cost-effective access to important primary care, behavioral health, and enabling services that uniquely benefit low-income and marginalized patient populations, particularly those who have been historically denied access to health care, improving availability of FQHCs may be an important mechanism for improving health care access and reducing subsequent inequities for these underserved groups., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Air pollution and socioeconomic status have both been strongly associated with cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. We sought to determine if socioeconomic status modifies the risk association between fine particulate matter air pollution (PM 2.5 ) and CV mortality., Methods: We linked county-level age-adjusted CV mortality data from Multiple Cause of Death files (2000-2016, ICD10: I00-I99) with 2015 Social Deprivation Index (SDI), a validated estimate of socioeconomic status, and modelled spatial and temporal mean annual PM 2.5 exposures (2012-2018). Higher SDI suggests greater deprivation and lower socioeconomic status. Associations between PM 2.5 and age adjusted CV mortality were estimated using linear models., Results: A total of 5,769,315 cardiovascular deaths from 2012-2018 across 3106 United States counties were analyzed. Both PM 2.5 (β (SE) 7.584 (0.938), P < .001) and SDI scores (β (SE) 0.591 (0.140), P < .001) were independently associated with age-adjusted CV mortality (R 2  = 0.341). The association between PM 2.5 and CV mortality were stronger among counties with highest SDI, P value for interaction = .012., Conclusion: Social deprivation and PM 2.5 exposures were independently associated with county level age-adjusted CV mortality. The associations between PM 2.5 and CV mortality were stronger in counties with high vs low social deprivation. SDI and PM 2.5 represent potential targets to reduce CV mortality disparities and interventions to reduce PM 2.5 exposure may be most impactful in communities of low socioeconomic status., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The South Carolina Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (SC-CPCRN) is 1 of 10 networks funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that works to reduce cancer-related health disparities. In partnership with federally qualified health centers and community stakeholders, the SC-CPCRN uses evidence-based approaches (eg, NCI Research-tested Intervention Programs) to disseminate and implement cancer prevention and control messages, programs, and interventions. We describe the innovative stakeholder- and community-driven communication efforts conducted by the SC-CPCRN to improve overall health and reduce cancer-related health disparities among high-risk and disparate populations in South Carolina. We describe how our communication efforts are aligned with 5 core values recommended for dissemination and implementation science: 1) rigor and relevance, 2) efficiency and speed, 3) collaboration, 4) improved capacity, and 5) cumulative knowledge.

This case study provides an in-depth examination of process and feasibility factors associated with the development of a multi-component environmental intervention designed to increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables in four low-income, minority, urban communities with few healthy food retail outlets. The intervention, the Veggie Project, included three components: (a) onsite farmers' markets, (b) a Super Shopper voucher program, and (c) a Youth Leader Board. We analyzed receipts from sales transactions at the farmers' markets, close-ended surveys with participants, in-depth interviews with project stakeholders, and journal entries completed by youth participants. Thirty-four farmers' markets occurred, resulting in 1,101 sales transactions. Financial vouchers were used to purchased 63% of the produce. All of the youth Super Shoppers came to the market at least once and made significantly more purchase transactions than adults. The farmers' markets were never accessed by 38% of the adult Super Shoppers. The Veggie Project increased access to healthy foods, particularly among youth. More research is warranted to examine the relationship between market use and dietary behaviors as well as other factors (i.e., besides physical and economic) influencing food access among adults.