Skip to content
stardietsecrets

stardietsecrets

Special In The Health

Primary Menu stardietsecrets

stardietsecrets

  • Health & Fitness
  • Healthy Life
  • Healthy Food
  • Healthy Meals
  • Behavioral Therapy
  • Healthy Snacks
  • About Us
    • Advertise Here
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Sitemap
  • Home
  • Accessing healthy food and beverages
  • Healthy Food

Accessing healthy food and beverages

Harold B. Brooks April 3, 2022

Table of Contents

Toggle
  • Regulating access to healthy food
  • Informing social policy

[ad_1]

Article by Jessica Henderson

Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson
March 28, 2022

Where can families experiencing food insecurity buy healthy food and beverages? The answer to this question is more complicated than you may expect, and it changes depending on the state or territory in which the family lives.

Participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), a federal program designed to improve access to healthy food and beverages for those experiencing food insecurity, may only purchase food from vendors that meet their individual state or territory’s idiosyncratic guidelines. For example, some states require WIC vendors to meet a minimum requirement for square footage, which may prevent families from accessing food at their neighborhood grocery stores.

Allison Karpyn, associate professor in the University of Delaware (UD) College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), offers new insight into how these regulations affect families’ access to healthy food. In “USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children Vendor Criteria: An Examination of U.S. Administrative Agency Variations,” Karpyn and her co-authors  Matthew J. Landry, Kim Phan, Jared T. McGuirt, Alek Ostrander, Lilian Ademu, Mia Seibold, Kathleen McCallops, Tara Tracy and Sheila E. Fleischhacker examine the criteria for WIC vendors across 89 U.S. states and tribal territories and find that some of these regulations may restrict access to food, rather than facilitate it.

“Families need access to healthy food and that access should not depend on the state you live in. This study is an important step toward pinpointing what the specific food policies are that limit access,” said Karpyn, who works within CEHD’s Department of Human Development and Family Sciences.

In recognition of this important work, Karpyn and her co-authors have won the 2021 High Impact Publication Award given by the Healthy Eating Research Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research Network WIC Learning Collaborative.  

Regulating access to healthy food

This study is the first to compile and examine a database of WIC vendor selection and authorization criteria established by the 89 administrative agencies in the U.S. After analyzing agency plans, training manuals and other documents, Karpyn and her team identified 13 vendor requirements set by one or more state or territory beyond the minimum requirements set by the federal government.

For example, some states and territories required the store to operate for a set number of days or hours, specified that the vendor meet the characteristics of a full-service grocery store or precluded participants from shopping at pharmacies, among other requirements. For each of these 13 requirements, the researchers identified the percentage of states or territories with that criterion.

Among other findings, Karpyn and her team discovered that about 67% of states and territories required vendors to have at least one cash register, but Delaware, Mississippi and Washington, D.C.,  required as many as three. While they found that most states (80%) did not set a square footage requirement, Delaware and Washington, D.C., had the highest requirement (equal to or over 10,000 square feet).

The researchers argue that these criteria matter: some of these restrictive criteria contribute to disparities in how WIC participants access healthy food. For example, the cash register and square footage requirements may prevent WIC participants from accessing smaller neighborhood vendors. Twenty states also require vendors to be full-service grocery stores. Families living in low-income areas without access to personal transportation may have to use public transportation to visit larger stores and then carry heavy groceries back to their homes.

Informing social policy

The findings from this study could inform federal, tribal, territorial, state and local efforts to increase access to WIC vendors and thus improve community food access. As a first step, these results encourage WIC stakeholders to review regulatory variations, their rationales and their implications with an eye toward improving healthy food and beverage access for WIC participants.

“I came to academia after having worked for 12 years at a pioneering Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization called The Food Trust. My first ‘aha!’ moment came in 2003 during hearings of the School Reform Commission (Philadelphia’s School Board) where debates were raging about whether to implement a school beverage policy that would restrict soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages,” said Karpyn. “I realized then how persuasive research can be and how critical it is to inform policy. Through that process, I also saw that it is possible to achieve policies that put children’s and families’ best interests at heart, even if you don’t have much money for lobbying.”

Further research might also examine how streamlining WIC vendor criteria across regional areas provides an opportunity to both advance interstate commerce and promote an equitable supply of food across the food system, while supporting local, community-oriented WIC vendors.

With Henry May, associate professor in the School of Education in CEHD, Karpyn serves as the co-director for the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP) within CEHD. CRESP conducts research, program evaluation and policy analysis to help practitioners, policymakers and the researchers who collaborate with them better understand critical issues in education, community health and human services. 

To learn more about Karpyn’s work, visit her faculty biography or CEHD’s research page on the Social Determinants of Health.

[ad_2]

Source link

Post Navigation

Previous Health Care Organizations Must Prioritize Cybersecurity Before Undergoing Digital Transformation – The Health Care Blog
Next 3 Ways your Gut Makes or Breaks Your Mental Health

More Stories

Long COVID Can Be Fatal, a New Report Confirms
  • Healthy Food

Long COVID Can Be Fatal, a New Report Confirms

Harold B. Brooks August 11, 2024 0
Eat the Rainbow Winter Week 3-Produce Myth #3: Fruit is High in Sugar
  • Healthy Food

Eat the Rainbow Winter Week 3-Produce Myth #3: Fruit is High in Sugar

Harold B. Brooks August 6, 2024 0
Feel Better Chicken Vegetable Soup
  • Healthy Food

Feel Better Chicken Vegetable Soup

Harold B. Brooks August 4, 2024 0
June 2025
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
« May    

Archives

Categories

  • Behavioral Therapy
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Health & Fitness
  • Healthy Food
  • Healthy Life
  • Healthy Meals
  • Healthy Snacks

Recent Posts

  • Your Guide to Cataract and Eye Disease Specialists and Financing for LASIK Eye Surgery
  • Choosing the Best Fluoride-Free Toothpaste for a Healthier Smile
  • Top 5 Golf Polos You Need in Your Wardrobe This Season
  • Empower Your Skin: A Holistic Approach to Cellulite Reduction
  • Magnetic Bracelets – Stylish Accessories with Wellness Benefits

Fiverr

Fiverr Logo

Tags

Alive Women'S Health Multivitamin Centura Health Speech Therapy Jobs Covid 19 Health Projections Gnr Health Systems health Health And Fitness Management Degree Health And Safety Code 34173 Health Authority In Europe Health Benefits Of Avocadoes Health Benefits Yellow Dock Health Canada New Vaccine Names Health Care Insurance Burnie Health Care In Vineland Nj Health Care To Illegals Snopes Health Compliace Office Fsu Health Connector Doctors Health Definition Fat Health Disadvantages Of Drinking Wine Health Disparities Symposium Nyu Health Education Last 12 Month Health Food Store Barcelona Health Informatics Masters Syracuse Health Insurance Coverage Transgender Health Insurance For Invisalign Health Insurance In Nys Affordable Health Insurance Office Vt Health Insurance Subsidy To Companies Health Insureance Alaska Having Baby Health Insurer Aurora Il Health Jobs In Riverton Ut Health Lottery 22 Free Spins Health Net Insurance Seoul Medical Health Psychology Northampton Ma Health Quest - Development Officer Health Ranger On Cancer Health Related Doctoral Degrees Health Related Interest Groups Health Risks For Steroids Health Risks In Pesticides Health Risks Of Humidity Health Risks Of Silver Nirate Health Solutions Inc St Vincent Mt Pleasant Dept Of Health Non Verbal Communication Mental Health Physical Health Persuasive

sysmodo
berryto

Related Article

Your Guide to Cataract and Eye Disease Specialists and Financing for LASIK Eye Surgery
  • Healthy Life

Your Guide to Cataract and Eye Disease Specialists and Financing for LASIK Eye Surgery

Harold B. Brooks June 25, 2025
Choosing the Best Fluoride-Free Toothpaste for a Healthier Smile
  • Healthy Life

Choosing the Best Fluoride-Free Toothpaste for a Healthier Smile

Harold B. Brooks June 5, 2025
Top 5 Golf Polos You Need in Your Wardrobe This Season
  • Healthy Life

Top 5 Golf Polos You Need in Your Wardrobe This Season

Harold B. Brooks May 26, 2025
Empower Your Skin: A Holistic Approach to Cellulite Reduction
  • Healthy Life

Empower Your Skin: A Holistic Approach to Cellulite Reduction

Harold B. Brooks April 12, 2025
Magnetic Bracelets – Stylish Accessories with Wellness Benefits
  • Healthy Life

Magnetic Bracelets – Stylish Accessories with Wellness Benefits

Harold B. Brooks March 15, 2025
stardietsecrets.com | CoverNews by AF themes.

WhatsApp us