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.

Weight Stigma Awareness Week is September 23–27. Created and co-hosted by the Body Equity Alliance and Within Health, Weight Stigma Awareness Week's mission is to "eliminate anti-fat bias, which is rooted in racism, to end the resulting stigma, shame, trauma and discrimination around body shape and size." At the Center for Nutrition & Health Impact, we're committed to the importance of equitable research and evaluation, and exploring the adverse effects of weight stigma in both social and healthcare settings. According to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), weight stigma refers to "individuals' social devaluation and denigration due to larger body sizes, leading to negative attitudes, stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. This issue has escalated, with a two-thirds increase over the past decade." This month, we will explore the causes and effects of weight stigma, including the use of Body Mass Index (BMI) to screen for weight categories and overall health, the GusNIP weight stigma measurement toolkit and CNHI scientists' research in this area. Got resources that can help eliminate weight stigma? Share with us in the comments!

For #NationalFoodBankDay, we're celebrating our grantees from Cohort 3 of the Rooted in Evidence Food Bank Grant program who are wrapping up with an in-person meeting next week in Omaha. Together, we'll review original project goals, evaluation data, dissemination efforts and storytelling to various audiences. This year's 7 grantees, with additional funding support from UnitedHealthcare, focused on a variety of innovative ways to tackle food and nutrition insecurity in their communities. From providing chef-prepared frozen meals to college students experiencing food insecurity to opening a free grocery store, the Rooted in Evidence grantees have powerful data, valuable insights and the information needed to improve and scale programming in the future. Congratulations to this year's grantees: Feeding Northeast Florida Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma Community Food Share Redwood Empire Food Bank Central California Food Bank Manzanita Outreach

Exciting news from @ISBNPA! As of September 3, submissions are open for symposia, oral and satellite meetings for the 2025 annual meeting in New Zealand. We'll be announcing more important deadlines and presentations as they are announced. Click the link for more details on upcoming dates to add to your calendar! https://lnkd.in/dkQi9J7U

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY from Food Research & Action Center, UnidosUS (@WeAreUnidosUS), Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative, and the Center for Nutrition & Health Impact: Raise awareness, increase participation, and expand #WIC outreach in your community. Apply for a #WIC Community Innovation & Outreach subgrant, supported by USDA Food and Nutrition Service. A reminder that the deadline to apply is Friday, September 6. https://lnkd.in/gPzSF9aG

New Jersey WIC (NJ WIC) is developing an online shopping solution with state funding to offset delivery costs for participants. They are partnering with Wakefern Food Corp. to establish delivery fee mechanics and separate state and federal funds. Wakefern will serve as a model for other vendors. NJ WIC will collaborate with The Center and other vendors to implement the online shopping system and engage EBT processors and retailers for the technical design. Learn more about their project at https://lnkd.in/g_qx5QaU #NJWIC #WICShopping #OnlineShopping #WICParticipants #WICVendors #HealthNutrition #WICShopPlus

Visiting the American Public Health Association (APHA) conference this fall in Minneapolis? Stop by booth #625 and say hi to our Center for Nutrition & Health Impact staff! We’ll be at the annual meeting and expo along with 12,000 attendees, presenters and leading experts in public health. Events kick off on October 27–30 with presenters covering a variety of topics including aging and public health, ethics, epidemiology, chronic disease, maternal and child health, mental health and so much more. Register today for this world-class event! Advance registration rates through September 16 before prices increase. Visit: https://lnkd.in/guTS3GGx

Additional WIC Online Shopping Project awarded 🎉 Rhode Island WIC (Rhode Island Department of Health), in collaboration with West Virginia WIC and Connecticut WIC, will join the 4 projects awarded in July to plan and prepare for WIC online shopping implementation. #WICShopPlus For more information on each project, visit https://lnkd.in/g9RKn-RN #WICOnlineShopping #PublicHealthandNutrition #FoodandNutritionSecurity #onlinegroceryshopping

Through our partnership with Feeding America and Elevance Health, we are evaluating the Food as Medicine 3.0 (FAM3) initiative. Across a national set of 21 food bank grantees and their healthcare partners, they have screened over 400,000 individuals for food insecurity. Following this screening, they have referred 67,394 individuals experiencing food insecurity to the FAM3 program, connecting these patients to food assistance resources onsite at healthcare facilities and at community-based food pantries and meal programs. We are so excited to measure and understand the impact of this FAM intervention. Follow along to see more data and to explore our findings in the coming months.

ICYMI: Our team's recent publication on implementing Food is Medicine (FIM) programs in healthcare settings 🩺 They used an implementation science framework to identify the barriers and facilitators to integrating FIM programs into healthcare settings, created a practice-friendly checklist to help guide those doing this work and discussed opportunities to improve the evidence base from an implementation lens💡 Congratulations to the amazing co-authors Dr. Bailey Houghtaling, Dr. Eliza Short, PhD, RDN, Dr. Carmen Byker Shanks, Dr. Sarah Stotz, Dr. Amy Lazarus Yaroch, Dr. Hilary Seligman, James Marriott, MS, Jenna Eastman, MDP, RDN and Dr. Christopher Long! https://lnkd.in/g8d6rjXm