Assessing the Implementation of US Programs and Policies for the Prevention of Food Insecurity and Obesity in Schools

饥饿安全网在帮助缓解五分之一美国儿童的饥饿方面发挥了重要作用 经历粮食不安全。从历史上看，粮食援助方案的重点是确保儿童 有足够的卡路里，而不一定是提供的食物的营养质量。但是，在 应对同一人群中同时存在的粮食不安全和肥胖风险，有一种 日益重视通过同时促进粮食安全来协调粮食安全和预防肥胖举措 获取和营养。战略设计和实施政策和方案干预，以解决 因此，粮食不安全和儿童营养都是当务之急，以确保 如果这样做，就不会造成健康差距。粮食安全和营养倡议的协调也可以 更好地利用有限的公共卫生资源，最大限度地惠及健康成果。 拟议项目审议如何改进儿童营养和粮食倡议的执行情况。 学校的安全措施。目标1量化实施支助之间的关系(例如，培训和 使用具有全国代表性的学校样本来评估学校的设备)和学校膳食质量。这项工作探索了 更好地执行是否支持协助学校采用膳食营养标准 与2010年的《健康、无饥饿儿童法案》相关联，改善了膳食的营养质量。 利用具有全国代表性的公立学校样本，Aim 2收集了一项尚未得到充分研究的信息 广泛使用的解决学校食物不安全问题的计划：周末背包计划。这些计划 为符合收入条件的学生提供食物，让他们在周五带回家；然而，他们的设计并不是基于 关于科学证据和现有证据基础对粮食安全和营养的影响是极其重要的 有限的。这项工作将收集有关周末背包项目的信息，包括流行率数据， 营养质量和其他特征，以确定实施因素是否与更多 有营养的食物。调查结果可能有助于确定改进计划设计、实施和 对营养的影响。目标3将探索周末背包营养质量的潜在差异 节目内容按美国地区、都市性和贫困程度排列。这项工作将确定某些人口是否 参加可能导致营养不良的低质量计划可能面临不成比例的风险 和健康差距。调查结果可能有助于促进项目的公平采用。 这项研究将通过我的赞助商的承诺指导和我的论文指导来实现 咨询委员会，以及来自机构环境和其他方面的充足教育资源。我也会 通过课程、研讨会、会议、网络研讨会和会议参与培训和教育。

The hunger safety net plays an important role in helping to alleviate hunger for the one in five US children who experiences food insecurity. Historically, food assistance programs have focused on ensuring that children have sufficient access to calories and not necessarily the nutritional quality of food provided. However, in response to the coexistence of food insecurity and the risk of obesity within the same populations, there is a growing emphasis on aligning food security and obesity prevention initiatives by simultaneously promoting food access and nutrition. Strategic design and implementation of policy and program interventions that address both food insecurity and nutrition for children are therefore imperative to make certain that the food being provided does not contribute to health disparities. Alignment of food security and nutrition initiatives can also make better use of limited public health resources for maximum benefits to health outcomes. The proposed project considers how to improve the implementation of initiatives for child nutrition and food security in schools. Aim 1 quantifies the relationship between implementation supports (e.g., training and equipment) and school meal quality using a nationally representative sample of schools. This work explores whether better implementation supports for assisting schools in adoption of the nutrition standards for meals associated with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 resulted in improved nutritional quality of meals. Using a nationally representative sample of public schools, aim 2 gathers information on an understudied, yet widely used, program to address food insecurity in schools: weekend backpack programs. These programs provide income-eligible students with food to take home on Fridays; however, they were not designed based on scientific evidence and the existing evidence-base for impact on food security and nutrition is extremely limited. This work will collect information on weekend backpack programs including data on prevalence, nutritional quality and other characteristics to determine if implementation factors are associated with more nutritious offerings. Findings may help to identify ways to improve program design, implementation and nutritional impact. Aim 3 will explore potential disparities in the nutritional quality of weekend backpack program contents by US region, urbanicity, and poverty-level. This work will determine if certain populations may be at disproportionate risk for participating in low quality programs that could contribute to poor nutrition and health disparities. Findings may help to promote equitable adoption of programs. The research will be achieved through committed mentorship of my sponsors, guidance from my dissertation advisory committee, and ample educational resources from the institutional environment and beyond. I will also participate in training and education through courses, seminars, meetings, webinars, and conferences.