SAES-422 Multistate Research Activity Accomplishments Report
Sections
Status: Approved
Basic Information
- Project No. and Title: NC_old1196 : Food systems, health, and well-being: understanding complex relationships and dynamics of change
- Period Covered: 10/01/2013 to 09/01/2014
- Date of Report: 02/15/2015
- Annual Meeting Dates: 11/20/2014 to 11/21/2014
Participants
Sandy Rakoon ( ) - University of Missouri; Virginie Zoumou ( ) - University of Maryland; Stephanie Parker ( ) - Oklahoma State University; Ardyth Gillespie ( ) - Cornell University; Gerad Middendorf ( ) - Kansas State University; Irene Hatsu ( ) - Ohio State University; Alex McIntosh (w-mcintosh@tamu.edu) - Texas A&M University;
Accomplishments
Short-term outcomes: 1. 246 new households completed participation in Grow Well Missouri program of seed exchange, gardening education, and equipment sharing; among documented results from 2014 growing season is 51% added new vegetable or fruit to gardens, 48% increased freezing of produce; 38% increased canning of produce; 97% shared produce with neighbors and family. 2. In Maryland, “Head Start Preschoolers Jumstart a Healthy lifestyle-A holistic Approach”, a childhood obesity project reached 300 children in the Tri-County Area of the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland. The installation of solar panel makes the outdoor gardening a year round activity for the children. Four experts (a sociologist, an anthropologist, a family science expert, and a psychologist) conducted an in-depth assessment of the caregivers’ understanding of obesity during their own life course. The results show a variety of themes related to culture, finance, family issues etc. An analysis of these results is being conducted to understand the caregivers’ food decision making process and better fight against childhood obesity in the Tri-County Area of the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland. 3. The Texas Grow Eat Go continued reaching new schools in Central Texas with classroom lessons regarding both growing and eating vegetables. Nearly 1,000 3rd and fourth graders have been reached over the past three years.
Impacts
- Objective 1 of this project is to identify determinants of local health and well-being within the context of food systems. Project members continued to identify determinants of local health by collecting data on changes in children?s fruit and vegetable consumption in Maryland and Texas, identifying food affordability gaps in Missouri, identifying rural communities that have lost grocery stores in Kansas, identifying trends in economic concentration in agriculture on a global scale, and identifying cooking skills needs in Minnesota.
- Objective 2 deals with assessing strategies that address constraints and opportunities to achieve optimal health. In Missouri, mechanisms for promoting and enhancing good in nutrition in food pantries were identified. Constraints of lack of adequate cooking facilities in home of low-income people Minnesota and Texas.
- Objective 3 focuses on identifying communities of interest to develop and test interventions to increase health. Food pantries in Missouri have been identified as sites for food and nutrition interventions. In Maryland, community stores in need of upgrading the foods they make available for consumers have been identified. In Texas additional schools interested in school gardening and horticulture/nutrition curriculum have been identified.
Publications
1. Song HJ*, Grutzmacher SK, Kostenko J. Personal weight status classification and health literacy among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants. Journal of Community Health, 2014, 39: 445-453. 2. Steiner, J. L., Engle, D. M., Xiao, X., Saleh, A., Tomlinson, P., Rice, C. W., Cole, N. A., Coleman, S. W., Osei, E., Basara, J., Middendorf, G., Gowda, P., Todd, R., Moffet, C., Anandhi, A., Starks, P. J., Ocshner, T., Reuter, R. and Devlin, D. 2014. “Knowledge and tools to enhance resilience of beef grazing systems for sustainable animal protein production.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1328: 10–17. doi: 10.1111/nyas.12572. 3. Getter, Kristen L., Bridget K. Behe, David S. Conner & Philip H. Howard. 2014. Pasture-Raised Milk: The Market for a Differentiated Product. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 20(2), 146-161. 4. Heidelberger L, Smith C. A Child’s Viewpoint: Determinants of food choice and definition of health in low-income 8-13year old children in Urban Minnesota Communities. J Hunger Environmental Nutrition, 2014, 9:388-408.