Center for Nutrition & Health Impact (formerly Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition)

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT! For the last 50 years, our focus has been clear: Conduct strong research that impacts nutrition for all ages. Gretchen Swanson’s original vision from the 1970s of reducing food insecurity among children is still true today, and we have worked to expand our focus over time to include other key areas of public health nutrition, such as healthy eating and active living, food and nutrition security, and food systems more broadly. With growth comes change. We have been working for months behind-the-scenes and we are finally able to share that the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition is rebranding to the Center for Nutrition and Health Impact effective today. By adding “health impact,” we are acknowledging the larger sphere of work we have engaged in over the last 15 years, as well as our work moving ahead. Our hope is for our work to have positive, lasting health impacts across multiple communities, over several generations. This is an ambitious goal, but one we are taking on wholeheartedly. While nutrition is always at our center, this rebrand reflects our unwavering innovation and exploration of other areas to spur progress. It is at the core of what we do. And what won’t be changing: the dedication and amazing work of the team and our partnership with you. We will continue to deliver the high-quality products that you associate with the Center, along with the breadth and depth of knowledge and expertise that has become synonymous with our name. Join us in celebrating this milestone, and please feel free to share this news with others you think may be interested.

Reminder! The ISBNPA 2025 Late-Breaking Abstract submissions are due Friday, February 21, 2025! Submit via the link or learn more about next year's conference in Auckland, New Zealand! https://lnkd.in/gUcWEe9E

This month, we talked with Senior Research Scientist Dr. Courtney Parks to explore the importance of in-person surveying in public health research throughout the SNAPI study. Dr. Parks shares how direct interaction with participants through the SNAPI project, a natural experiment to understand the impact of nutrition incentive programs on fruit and vegetable intake, diet, and food security among consumers with a limited income, allowed for deeper connections and more responsive program development. Watch the full video to learn how in-person surveys can enhance our understanding of community needs and contribute to future participant impacts.

Public health touches all our lives in so many ways. Day in and day out, public health professionals work tirelessly to address today's most pressing health challenges, advocate for healthier communities and create more equitable opportunities for all. To celebrate Public Health Thank You Day, we sat down with our staff to learn why they chose to work in public health. If you work in the field, what is your favorite part about working in public health? What are you grateful for? Let us know in the comments! ??

Continuing our series on highlighting our #RootedinEvidence grantees, we're highlighting @manzanitaoutreach, located in Cottonwood, AZ. The organization is the largest food assistance provider in the Yavapai County. Through partnerships with local farms, Manzanita Outreach has provided thousands of pounds of fresh produce to hundreds of food insecure clients. Additionally, they launched nutritional and culinary education tailored to the unique needs of the community, focusing on historically underserved groups, including multiple Yavapai Apache Nation tribal communities in Arizona. Manzanita Outreach saw great success from the grant funds received. Some notable results included: ?? Increasing local food security by 8.9%; ?? 31% of participants feeling extremely confident in following a simple recipe; and ?? 6.3% of participants reporting that they often adjusted meals to be more healthful. To learn more about Manzanita Outreach, visit https://lnkd.in/gwxai-9n .

Each year, National Rural Health Day (#NRHD) honors the incredible efforts of health care practitioners, organizations and State Offices of Rural Health who are dedicated to addressing the unique challenges faced by communities in rural areas ?? In a recently published article, CNHI Research Scientist Dr. Laura Balis and collaborators explored the prevalence and factors associated with leisure-time (LT) bicycling behaviors in populations living in urban and rural settings, with implications for increasing the prevalence of leisure-time cycling in rural areas ?? Full text at the link! https://lnkd.in/giHQTYgf

Kelli Case, JD, serves as a senior staff attorney at the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (IFAI). In honor of Native American Heritage Month, Case shared about Tribal food and agriculture and how her experiences as a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation have shaped her views on health equity, food sovereignty and nutrition security in the United States. “Tribal food and agriculture systems are diverse and thriving—and so is Tribal food and agricultural policy. While for generations our food and agriculture has been largely ignored, Native Americans are experiencing more inclusion in legislation and regulations than ever before. Tribes are also creating their own food and agriculture policy and systems through adopting Tribal food and agriculture codes, starting or expanding Tribal agricultural enterprises and so much more.” Read the full article at the link!

Rhode Island (RI), West Virginia (WV), and Connecticut (CT) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) State agencies are working together to modernize the WIC participant’s shopping experience through a Planning Project. ???? By collaborating with JPMA, FIS/CDP, and a consultant project management organization, they aim to identify a WIC-authorized vendor for a curbside pickup model. ?? Surveys and listening sessions with vendors and experts will guide the development of an implementation plan for the WIC online shopping project. Want to learn more? Visit https://lnkd.in/gqSAbb9S. #WICShopping #CurbsidePickup #CommunitySupport #WICOnline #RhodeIsland #WestVirginia #Connecticut

Today marks the first day of National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week (#HHWeek), an annual program designed to educate the public, draw attention to the pressing issues of hunger and homelessness, and build up the base of volunteers and supports for local anti-poverty agencies. College students are an often overlooked population when researching access to nutritious food, which is essential to have the energy and focus required for higher education. According to the United States Government Accountability Office, 23% of college students experienced low food security in 2020. Of these students, 58% reported very low food security, defined as multiple instances of eating less than they should or skipping meals because they could not afford enough food. The Center for Nutrition & Health Impact's Cara Cliburn Allen Ph.D.'s service, research and practice has been informed by the belief that all people deserve access to nutritious food. Throughout her career, she has worked to address college student hunger through research and innovative solutions during her time at Baylor University, and also made policy recommendations. Cliburn Allen is co-author of a new book being released in 2025, Starving the Dream: Student Hunger and the Hidden Costs of Campus Affluence. Together with Dr. Nathan Alleman, associate professor of higher education studies at Baylor University, and Sarah E. Madsen, Ph.D., postdoctoral research associate at Baylor University, the expansive study reveals the startling contradiction between the celebrated opportunities of prestige-oriented colleges and universities and the food insecurity that exceptional low-income students must navigate within environments of plenty. Join us in congratulating Dr. Cliburn Allen—we look forward to seeing the impact this much-needed publication will have on the campus food security landscape. https://lnkd.in/gkb-3d6y

We are thrilled to share some highlights from our in-person meeting in Omaha, NE where Rooted in Evidence grantees and the CNHI team came together to discuss the impact of their work on food security, program development and innovation. This video captures the dedication, passion and expertise of many participating grantees, who are working to address food insecurity in their communities through a variety of unique approaches and strategies. "They [the grantees] leave the Rooted in Evidence grant empowered to impact their communities above and beyond the time that we have together," said CNHI Senior Research Scientist Betsy Anderson Steeves. "The skills our grantees have gained will have ripple effects throughout their communities." Hear more about the RIE program and our grantees' work in the full video on YouTube! https://lnkd.in/gjJVVtws