Session Type: Healthy and Sustainable Pathways for Children and Youth

Participants will tour recent nationwide changes in SNAP-Ed partnerships and practices that offer fresh opportunities to capture the collective power of nutrition assistance and other federal programs, state and local projects, and private sector commitments generated by the 2022 White House Conference. After being introduced to new, inclusive tools � such as asset-based needs assessments, multi-sector collaboration, equity mapping, timely dashboards, and electronic reporting � participants will leave with new tools to develop strategies that empower food citizens and community partners to help end hunger, improve nutrition and physical activity, and reduce disease risk in underserved communities.

Empowering food citizens to promote healthy diets and sustainable food systems can be achieved through multiple ways based on needs and available resources in different countries. Nutrition programs targeting early ages are particularly critical because they can help children reach their optimal growth and development with life-long impacts. This session will start with a brief overview of policy, systems, and environmental changes to promote food and nutrition security. Speakers will present success stories and challenges in their food and nutrition programs offered in schools and daycare centers to promote healthy, sustainable eating, targeting children and adolescents in Ghana, Pacific Islands region, and South Korea. The programs include school-feeding program, menu planning program with management support and nutrition education, and food procurement programs. Education for future nutrition professionals via international collaboration will also be shared. It will end with a panel discussion and Q&A.

A significant amount of research has been conducted about the eating competence approach to food and eating behavior. Findings have concurred with the initial findings that eating competence is a proxy for health, well-being, and reduced risk for chronic diseases. To date, nearly 200 researchers and practitioners) are using an eating competence approach. They are from 29 US states and 19 countries, representing six continents. Eating competence is measured in ten languages. This session updates this global research and details findings from locations in Finland, Brazil and Washington State to enhance integration of eating competence into research and practice venues.

Health Equity is when everyone has access to the opportunities necessary to satisfy their essential needs, advance their health and well-being, and achieve their full potential regardless of their background. This session will explore strategies to reconnect with communities to advance health equity in nutrition education. Findings from the comprehensive Southeast Multi-State Racial and Health Equity SNAP-Ed Needs Assessment will be shared, the Georgia SNAP-Ed program will highlight their community engagement model to advance equity, and the panel will discuss next steps nutrition leaders can take to ensure health equity is considered in nutrition education and food system transformation plans.

Systems change is rarely the result of a single person or organization�s efforts; rather, it requires collective effort to empower community members, including neighbors and organizations, to work with shared purpose. This session shares a �whole community� approach to supporting community systems via SNAP-Ed nutrition education and PSE strategies tailored to local needs, partner priorities, and community context. Deciphering how one program complements another is difficult, even more challenging is determining program impact on real people�s lives. This session features a panel highlighting transformative nutrition education program design, evaluation methods, and community collaboration approaches that yield health behavior impact.

Professional and consumer resources for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 are now available in Spanish! Access Recursos en Espa�ol on DietaryGuidelines.gov and learn about the process undertaken, from needs assessment through implementation, to translate Dietary Guidelines supporting resources and MyPlate materials into Spanish. Presenters will discuss the challenges faced and lessons learned while working to ensure equity through language access. Attendees will learn about applicable strategies including selecting translation partners, navigating the nuances of dialects, and developing adaptable and culturally relevant resources.

Americans do not eat recommended amounts of seafood as a lean protein alternative to other meats. To teach people to eat more seafood a program was developed in NJ to encourage greater consumption while also supporting the local economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Creators of this program realized that more knowledge from consumers on barriers to seafood consumption could better shape programming and potentially contribute to policy changes in this space. This session will focus on data collected from this seafood consumption study and discuss how using consumer data can support change in food systems through increased knowledge and access.

In this session, investigators will share nutrition and health promotion research that incorporates various digital technology strategies that allow community members to meaningfully engage in the research process. The goal of these strategies is to create interventions and research methods that are rooted in community insight and priorities, thus empowering individuals through more relevant and effective nutrition-related programs, policies, and environments. Attendees will come away with practical research strategies that empower citizens and that can be applied to a wide array of nutrition education and behavior research projects and programs.

Millets have untapped potential to address food security and climate change due to their nutrition value, resistance to drought and pests, the ability to grow in poor soils, and value to farmers. Millets are considered �nutri-cereals� due to their high nutritional content. This session will discuss ways Nutrition Educators around the world can collaborate with other stakeholders to promote millets in their roles as part of the #InternationalYearOfMillets2023. At the heart of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are those that address Zero Hunger (SDG#2), Good Health and Well-being (SDG#3) and Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG#12).

The charitable food system provides direct food assistance to people experiencing food insecurity or instability. This session aims to describe novel findings on using nutritious no prep ready-to-eat meals to improve healthy eating opportunities for individuals and families that utilize charitable feeding programs and innovations in the charitable feeding program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications will be provided for how nutrition educators working in the charitable food space can form cross-sector collaborations with food retailers and community partners to support a futuristic model of healthy, delicious food that maximizes consumer choice and nutrition security.

Universal school meals, where all students can eat for free, offer an opportunity to dramatically improve food insecurity and diet quality and strengthen regional food systems. Researchers and practitioners working on universal school meals programs in California and Maine will describe their work evaluating and supporting the implementation of free school meals for all and will share research findings. The session will present findings from surveys and interviews with food service directors and parents/guardians in both states, and will highlight ways in which nutrition professionals have successfully supported implementation of universal meals policies.

To grow equitable centering of community voice that integrates needs-based policy, systems, and environmental change (PSE) into transformational community-based work, Michigan Fitness Foundation (MFF) staff instituted organizational change through adopting equitable evaluation principles, guided by the Equitable Evaluation Initiative. In response, MFF shifted reading about community needs in written proposals to welcoming community teams to use storytelling and testimony to identify their own nutrition-related needs. These changes have made it possible for nutrition educators to share power with community members and program participants. Changing the power dynamic and disrupting anchored structures make pathways to nutrition-related behavior change more equitable.

This session will employ a panel of experts to address and promote applied research related to identifying, engaging and empowering the 20 million American citizens in recovery for substance use. Healing the whole person (social, mental, spiritual, physical, etc.) requires nutrition educators to effectively partner with clinical professionals in the recovery setting. Recovery is characterized by malnutrition, low energy, fatigue, impaired metabolism and satiety cues, weight concerns and sleep disorders. Meaningful participation with this population will not only improve treatment outcomes but also maximize food security, nutrition and physical activity to help ensure no citizen is left behind.

This session will address the rewards and challenges of promoting nutrition equity to mitigate health disparities in the Black community. The feasibility evaluation of the Black Wellness Matters-Nutrition Series, a curriculum aimed at increasing plant-based food intake to mitigate chronic disease risk, will be highlighted. Qualitative findings on the cultural relevance of traditional and alternative tools for dietary guidelines will be reviewed. At an organizational level, the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) initiative to recruit minorities into the nutrition and dietetics profession through �Bridges to Dietetics through Narrative Heritage Models of the Chesapeake� in Maryland will be explored.

Community gardens directly impact a community�s health. Community gardens increase food security by providing safe, affordable, healthy food options for their local community. This presentation will discuss 1) how to recruit and retain community partners; 2) how to actively engage community partners in decision making processes surrounding the garden and produce; and 3) how to incorporate nutrition and physical activity education into a community garden setting. University of Missouri Extension partners with hundreds of community agencies throughout the state to provide educational programs as well as locally produced foods that is incorporated into community meals.

Globally, school meals have an essential role in children’s dietary behaviors and the food security of children who belong to food-insecure households. This session highlights the similarities and differences in school meal programs in the USA, Japan, and the Pacific Islands regarding research practices, policy implications, community-related challenges, and best practices. Participants of this session will gain valuable insights in terms of global aspects of the school meal environment from four SNEB student members. Participants will also have the opportunity to ask questions to student presenters about the topic.

Latinx and Asian American communities in the U.S. face unique yet similar structural barriers to maintaining adequate diet quality, contributing to an increased burden of diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. These inequities have been exacerbated in recent years due to overt anti-immigrant and anti-Asian sentiment during COVID-19 pandemic that amplify challenges towards accessing food and economic stability. In this session, participants will learn about how organizations from multiple sectors came together to develop the Building Access to Food through Systems and Solidarity (BASIS) program to improve diet in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and other work done to improve socioeconomic outcomes.

In the last 40 years, the U.S. has admitted anywhere from 22K � 230K refugees annually. While refugees and immigrants may arrive with health-promoting eating patterns and behaviors, they can erode over time and develop chronic diseases at rates similar to U.S.-born populations. The process of acculturation combined with structural inequality negatively contributes to New American population�s food access and dietary intake as they learn to adapt to navigate the U.S. food system. This session will examine the role of cultural responsiveness in measuring, designing, and implementing interventions that can equitably address food and nutrition insecurity in the U.S.

Nutrition incentive (NI) and produce prescription (PPR) projects have been effective in increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and improving food security in a variety of retail settings, including farm direct (e.g., farmers markets) and local grocers. This session will feature exemplary USDA GusNIP grantees who have successfully implemented NI/PPR projects and engaged with their communities to strengthen their community-based food system. Presentations will highlight project implementation and evaluation, key considerations for NI/PPR interventions, integration of nutrition education, and partnerships with local farmers and grocers.

Rural communities face significant health disparities relative to their urban-dwelling counterparts. Efforts to enhance health equity and transform the food system converge in our rural communities, where health disparities exist in tandem with rich agricultural histories and traditions of communal self-reliance. It’s imperative that researchers and practitioners become well-versed in best practices for not only engaging, but empowering, this subset of the population for the sake of both nutrition and food system equity. This session will include brief presentations from each speaker on lessons learned from research studies employing community engagement best practices, followed by panel Q&A and group discussion.

This session will highlight the benefits of engagement within the Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior. Attendees will gain insight into how to make the most out of division membership and tips for increasing engagement. Division structure, such as subcommittees within the Higher Education Division, will be explained. Experiences of leadership within divisions and subcommittees will be shared and examples of successful outputs, such as webinars and manuscripts will be presented. Discussion on leadership transitions and sustaining student involvement will be provided as a means to empower the next generation of food citizens