Use of Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change Strategies Within Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed), 2014–2016 (P04-160-19)

Abstract

Objectives SNAP-Ed is the nutrition education and obesity prevention component of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the nation's largest nutrition assistance program for eligible low-income households. The 2010 Child Nutrition Act directed SNAP-Ed to include multi-level and public-health approaches, which was operationalized through policy, systems, and environmental change strategies (PSE). This analysis examines how states incorporated and planned to use PSEs in SNAP-Ed programming. Methods Data were collected from all 50 states, District of Columbia, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands (collectively described as “states”) for fiscal years 2014 through 2016. The data sources were state SNAP-Ed plans, annual reports, and administrative data. Qualitative methods were used to abstract the textual information from state plans and annual reports. Numerical data were collected from administrative data sets. Both textual and numerical data were categorized, counted, and relative frequencies were calculated. Results Between 2014 and 2016, the percentage of states that included PSEs as a statewide goal for SNAP-Ed increased from 25 to 47 and the percentage that planned to implement at least one PSE increased from 56 to 98. Among states that planned to implement PSEs in 2016, the 3 most common settings were places where people learn (e.g., schools) (92%), live (e.g., local communities) (90%), and work (e.g., worksites) (83%). States partnered with a wide range of organizations to deliver PSEs, with the 3 most common being government programs or agencies (77%), agricultural organizations (58%), and others non-specified (e.g., food alliances, wellness committees) (48%). Between 2014 and 2016, the percentage of states that planned to target environmental settings from the SNAP-Ed evaluation framework increased from 31 to 78. Conclusions States increasingly planned to use and were using PSEs across a range of settings and partners in SNAP-Ed between 2014 and 2016. This increase is encouraging as PSEs are important to use in conjunction with direct nutrition education and social marketing to improve nutrition and prevent obesity. Funding Sources U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Targeting the spatial context of obesity determinants via multiscale geographically weighted regression

“…Race and ethnicity are frequently regarded as reliable predictors of obesity where minority populations are considered to be especially vulnerable to higher rates of obesity [8,49,66,67]. The percentage of households receiving SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps) was included because there is vigorous debate as to whether the program increases or decreases obesity rates in low-income communities [49,[68][69][70][71]. Lastly, the percentage of the tract population with at least a bachelor's degree was included, as there is evidence that individuals with at least some college education are less likely to be obese [65,72,73].…”

Health Behavior Changes Among Adults in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education, Los Angeles County, California

“…In 2018, an estimated 26.8% of LAC households with incomes less than 300% of the federal poverty guidelines were food insecure, according to a population-based telephone questionnaire (30). While SNAP-Ed classes can help improve food security status (7,8), stress may contribute to worsening health behaviors despite participant knowledge about its negative health effects (31). Programs and interventions should work to integrate and maximize enrollment of eligible populations into nutrition assistance programs including SNAP, WIC, and senior meal programs.…”

“…Examples of SNAP-Ed PSEs have included edible gardens in schools, incentive voucher programs in communities and health care settings, and healthy retail initiatives to promote FV consumption. Although states and implementing agencies have increasingly implemented PSEs throughout the past decade, limited research has characterized potential effects of SNAP-Ed programming at the community level ( 9 ). For example, 2 recent studies showed that for low-income caregivers of children who lived in high SNAP-Ed reach census tracts (versus low SNAP-Ed reach census tracts), PSEs were associated with increased FV consumption and decreased intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) ( 10 , 11 ).…”

“…Some studies indicate that nutrition education is associated with increased fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption, which is a priority outcome for SNAP and for SNAP-Ed (5,6). Participation in SNAP-Ed nutrition education classes has been shown to improve food security status (7,8).…”

Targeting the spatial context of obesity determinants via multiscale geographically weighted regression

“…Race and ethnicity are frequently regarded as reliable predictors of obesity where minority populations are considered to be especially vulnerable to higher rates of obesity (Cockerham et al, 2017;Giuntella & Stella, 2017;Segal et al, 2017;Sohn et al, 2017). The percentage of households receiving SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps) was included because there is vigorous debate as to whether the program increases or decreases obesity rates in low-income communities (Meyerhoefer & Pylypchuk, 2008;DeBono, Ross, & Berrang-Ford, 2012;Gundersen, 2016;Segal et al, 2017;Burke et al, 2019). Lastly, the percentage of the tract population with at least a bachelor's degree was included, as there is evidence that individuals with at least some college education are less likely to be obese (Jackson et al, 2005;Ogden et al, 2010;Lawrence, 2017).…”