Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health

Master of Public Health


October 30, 2016

Body Positive Week: Program Development, Implementation and Evaluation

Eating disorders (ED) happen most in college, and the rate of eating disorders among college students has risen to 10-20% of women and 4-10% of men. Body dissatisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, and low self esteem all contribute to development of ED. Seattle Pacific University (SPU) students are dealing with these same issues and care deeply about...

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October 1, 2016

The Good Food Bag Evaluation: Impacts of a Unique Food Access Program

Fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption is not adequate, especially among low-income families, which can increase risk of chronic disease, and increasing F&V consumption is one approach to reducing health disparities. The Good Food Bag (GFB) Program delivers subsidized produce bags from local farms to low-income families with the goal to increase access to fresh produce...

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August 26, 2016

Gardening for Health: Patterns of Gardening and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption on the Navajo Nation

The Navajo Nation represents a significant proportion of the American Indian/Alaskan Native population that is disproportionately affected by diet-related chronic diseases. Emerging evidence suggests that community gardening can improve health through increased access to, and consumption of, fruits and vegetables. The purpose of this study was to assess the patterns of gardening and fruit and...

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Sodium in School Lunches Before and After Implementation of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010

Good nutrition is essential for child health and development. Effective school lunch standards can contribute to the well-being and academic achievement of students. The Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) mandated implementation of nutrition standards for the National School Lunch Program. The HHFKA standards required increased servings of fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain rich...

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June 30, 2016

Smarter Lunchroom Evaluations in Snohomish County Promoting Fruit & Vegetable Consumption in Elementary Schools

A majority of students in Snohomish County are not consuming the recommended amounts of fruit and vegetables (F&V). Schools have the ability to influence the amount of F&V consumed by children. Smarter Lunchroom strategies use behavioral economics to persuade students to choose and consume healthy food. Implementing Smarter Lunchroom strategies will support student nutrition and...

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June 10, 2016

Analysis of Media Coverage on Breastfeeding Policy in Washington State

Framing of messages about breastfeeding policy in the media can foster or hinder interpretations of policy’s potential benefits and may ultimately influence important policy decisions in institutions and legislative bodies. This study evaluated how breastfeeding policies were framed in print and web-based newspapers in Washington State; to identify sources of frames; to examine the balance...

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April 29, 2016

Cost, Quality, and Availability: Comparing Winter Produce in Supermarkets & Farmers Markets

This project was completed in the course NUTR 531: Public Health Nutrition.

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March 25, 2016

Food Shopping Trip Characteristics Before and After the Light Rail

The Seattle Food Action Plan recommends improving healthy food access via non-auto transportation options, and light rail is a public transportation system recently introduced and currently being invested in and expanded. When studying food access, time is both an area-based measure of proximity and a component of travel cost to the individual, but proximity does...

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December 11, 2015

Exploring the Use of Seattle’s Farmers’ Market Incentive Program (“Fresh Bucks”) by Household Food Security Levels

Farmers market incentive programs such as the Fresh Bucks program in Seattle, Washington aim to improve healthy food access and food security amongst low-income individuals. The objective of this study was to compare Fresh Bucks access and associated shopping behaviors across food security levels of high/marginal, low, and very low food security.

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Measuring Plate Waste: Validity and Inter-Rater Reliability of the Quarter-Waste Method

Measuring food waste in school cafeterias is an important tool to evaluate the effectiveness of school nutrition policies aiming to increase consumption of healthier meals. Visual assessment methods are frequently applied in plate waste studies because they are more convenient than weighing; the visual quarter-waste method has become one of the most commonly used in...

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