Food & Nutrition Policy

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Projects

• Washington State Food Policy Entity Assessment  

  Food policy groups (FPGs), which typically include councils, networks, and coalitions, are collaborative bodies that bring together diverse stakeholders from various sectors to address local and regional food system challenges. The importance and presence of food policy groups have been steadily growing in recent years, driven by increasing awareness of food system issues and the...

  Project Lead/PI: Jennifer Otten

  Research Area(s): Food & Nutrition Policy

• CDC Reducing Sodium in Communities Project

  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) a 5 year cooperative agreement to undertake sodium reduction efforts within King County. Through this project, PHSKC will address the barriers and challenges our communities face in healthy eating by implementing lasting and sustainable sodium reduction efforts...

  Project Lead/PI: Jessica Jones-Smith

  Research Area(s): Food & Nutrition Policy, Social Determinants of Health

• Sweetened Beverage Taxes: Economic Benefits and Costs According to Household Income

  This project evaluates the effectiveness of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in three U.S. cities, studying specifically: Quantifying the magnitude of tax payment regressivity in each of three large US cities (Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle) that have implemented SSB taxes. Assessing the global economic impacts of SSB tax policy in two ways: 1) by estimating the amount of...

  Project Lead/PI: Jessica Jones-Smith

  Research Area(s): Food & Nutrition Policy

• Seattle Minimum Wage Study

  Professor Jennifer Otten and doctoral candidate James Buszkiewicz lead various sub-components of The Minimum Wage Study including examining the pass-through effects of a local minimum wage policy on supermarket food prices using field-based data collection, analyzing how state variation in minimum wage affects health outcomes using National Health Interview Survey and Bureau of Labor Statistics...

  Project Lead/PI: Jennifer Otten

  Research Area(s): Food & Nutrition Policy, Social Determinants of Health

• Evaluation of the City of Seattle’s Sweetened Beverage Tax

  In June 2017, the City of Seattle passed an Ordinance to impose a 1.75-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary beverages. The ordinance that created the Sweetened Beverage Tax also required the City to work with academic researchers to assess the impact of the tax (Ordinance 125324, Section 5B). We have proposed to evaluate the impact of this...

  Project Lead/PI: Jessica Jones-Smith

  Research Area(s): Food & Nutrition Policy, Social Determinants of Health

• Child Care Culture of Health Study

  Investigators are evaluating how wage and wage changes might affect the culture of health in early childhood education (ECE) settings —a setting typically characterized by low wages. The researchers are examining how changes to state and city minimum wages affect the health of ECE providers, and how ECE provider health relates to the quality and...

  Project Lead/PI: Jennifer Otten

  Research Area(s): Early Care & Education, Food & Nutrition Policy, Social Determinants of Health

• Sodium Reduction in Seattle and South King County K-12 Schools and Food Banks

  Heart disease and stroke are the second and fifth leading causes of death in King County, Washington. Consuming less sodium is one recommendation for reducing hypertension, a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Unfortunately, most people consume much more sodium than dietary guidelines currently recommend even before accounting for particular health conditions. The...

  Project Lead/PI: Jessica Jones-Smith

  Research Area(s): Food & Nutrition Policy

• Evaluation Support for Washington State’s Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) initiative in Farmers Markets

  One barrier to healthy eating for people with low incomes can be the cost of healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. The Washington State Department of Health has implemented a statewide large-scale Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) initiative since 2015 to make it easier for low-income participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to...

  Project Lead/PI: Donna B. Johnson Jennifer Otten

  Research Area(s): Food & Nutrition Policy, Food Access

• Voices for Healthy Kids Campaign

  This project is part of a comprehensive evaluation of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and American Heart Association’s Voices for Healthy Kids Initiative. We will identify and analyze state childhood obesity legislation that was introduced and/or enacted during calendar year 2017, the fourth year after the Voices for Healthy Kids Initiative awarded its first grant....

  Project Lead/PI: Jessica Jones-Smith

  Research Area(s): Food & Nutrition Policy

• Policy Legislation and Nutrition (PLAN): What Works to Improve Student Health?

  The PLAN research project examines the effects of legislation that required school districts to develop nutrition and physical activity policies. Washington State Senate Bill 5436 required all public school districts to develop a nutrition and fitness policy by the start of the 2005-06 school year. In addition school districts that participate in the national USDA...

  Project Lead/PI: Donna B. Johnson

  Research Area(s): Food & Nutrition Policy

Recently Added Resources

• Learning About and Connecting Food Policy Entities in Washington: An Effort of the Washington State Conservation Commission, Washington State Department of Agriculture, and Washington Food Policy Forum

  Published November 25, 2024, this report shares findings from a UW FNSH-led assessment of Washington State food policy entities, conducted February-June 2024.” I think no need to share key findings or anything at this point.  Learn more about the project including goals, team members, and sponsorship.

  Research Area(s): Food & Nutrition Policy

• Brief: Are sweetened beverage taxes equitable policy?

  This study—the first to our knowledge using real-world tax data—explored the economic equity aspects of sweetened beverage taxes (SBT). The study looked at taxes paid, and benefits received from programs supported with tax revenues, by people with lower and higher incomes in three U.S. cities. Findings Taxes paid by people with lower incomes accounted for...

  Research Area(s): Food & Nutrition Policy

• Washington State Food System Assessment Report

  This report was prepared for the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and published online December 14, 2021. Titled The State of the Washington State Food System During COVID-19: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead, the report provides an in-depth assessment of the state of Washington’s food system during the COVID-19 pandemic and identifies strengths, weaknesses, and ongoing risks affecting Washington’s food system, as...

  Research Area(s): Food & Nutrition Policy, Food Access, Food Systems & Nutrition, Social Determinants of Health