Research & Practice
Assessing Sodium Content of Foods in Two Seattle-King County Food Banks
The emergency food system is an increasingly important source of food for food insecure households. Meanwhile, there is growing concern among food banks, food bank clients, and public health officials in regard to the quality of foods offered in food banks and whether they support the dietary needs of low-income populations. As agencies begin to implement interventions to improve the healthfulness of food bank offerings by targeting specific nutrients of concern, such as added sugar or sodium, a method of evaluation is required to properly assess the impact of these strategies. However, previous efforts to characterize the overall nutrition profile of foods distributed by the emergency food system have not focused specifically on nutrients of concern, thereby limiting the ability of food bank directors and policymakers to evaluate implemented actions.
The purpose of this project was to develop and pilot test a methodology to assess the sodium content of food bank offerings. This project was driven by the need to facilitate baseline and ongoing data collection to assess the impacts of a CDC sodium reduction intervention in the emergency food system.
Materials Available
Project Type(s): Master's Thesis
Author(s): Sarah Craven
Program(s): Master of Public Health
Year: 2017
Adviser(s):