Pantry clients and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education practitioners' perspectives on factors influencing healthy eating policy, system and environmental interventions in food pantries.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education identified food pantries as a targeted setting for policy, system, and environmental (PSE) interventions to promote healthy eating among households who rely on pantries to supplement their food needs. The present study sought to identify factors influencing capacity and readiness to implement healthy eating PSE interventions in food pantries. Qualitative interviews were conducted via zoom with twenty-six community residents with experience receiving SNAP benefits and twelve SNAP-Ed staff in rural and urban counties in Ohio to identify themes and indicators related to community/organisational capacity and readiness to implement healthy eating PSE interventions in food pantries. Themes and related indicators generated based on inductive and deductive coding of interview transcripts were prioritised and weighted by eleven community nutrition experts during a virtual consensus conference. Five themes emerged; expert-derived weights (scaled low, 0 to high, 1) reflect the perceived importance of each to implementation of healthy eating PSE interventions in food pantries: food pantry capacity and logistics [0⋅252], networks and relationships [0⋅228], community nutrition practitioner capacity [0⋅212], food pantry user characteristics [0⋅156], and stigma and stereotypes [0⋅1⋅52]. Overall, seventeen indicators were identified reflecting these themes. Successful and sustained PSE interventions at food pantries will require a tailored approach that considers food pantries' capacity, needs and opportunities within the community, and capacity of community nutrition practitioners. The themes and indicators identified provide guidance for responsive PSE approaches in food pantries that meet communities where they are.

Indicators of Readiness and Capacity for Implementation of Healthy Eating Strategies in Child Care Settings Serving Low-Income Children.

OBJECTIVE: Identify factors perceived to influence implementation of healthy eating policy, systems, and environmental strategies (PSEs) in child care settings serving low-income children. DESIGN: This mixed-methods study, conducted in 2015-2016, used semi-structured interviews (n = 18), focus groups (n = 23), and an expert panel. PARTICIPANTS: Public health (n = 11) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education practitioners (n = 9) and community residents (n = 174) from 9 counties in Ohio. Expert panelists (n = 10) had experience implementing PSEs in child care settings. PHENOMENON OF INTEREST: Implementation factors influencing healthy eating PSEs in child care settings. ANALYSIS: Qualitative thematic analysis of 41 transcripts using a grounded theory approach. Indicators for each theme were operationalized. Consensus feedback from an expert panel weighted themes and indicators based on perceived importance for implementation. RESULTS: Identified themes relevant to implementation of PSEs included (1) organizational and practitioner capacity, (2) child care capacity, (3) networks and relationships, and (4) community resources and motivations. Nineteen indicators related to the 4 themes were identified and weighted. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Findings highlighted key factors within domains of influence and informed the operationalization of the indicators and the development of an assessment tool. The assessment tool is designed to tailor PSE implementation to the realities of different child care settings.

Food insecurity and household food supplies in rural Ecuador.

The objective of this research is to assess the validity of a modified US Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM) through its correlation with food supply and demographic factors, and its fitness using Rasch model analysis in rural Ecuador. This study examines the relationship between household food insecurity and household food supplies in 52 Ecuadorian households. The sample was drawn from four rural communities participating in the project PLAN in Cantón Quijos. Questionnaires included a modified HFSSM, a household food shelf-inventory and demographic characteristics. Multiple ANOVA analysis resulted in statistically significant inverse relationships between household food insecurity and total food supply, as well as the supply of meat, vegetables, legumes, oils, and other food products (p=0.05). Rasch model measure values on the HFSSM illustrated food insecurity at different levels of severity. The majority of the items (>75%) presented adequate infit values. This study affirms that the proposed modified HFSSM may be useful to measure food insecurity and thus be used as a tool to monitor and evaluate programs aimed at improving quantity and variety of food items in rural Ecuador.

Effect of suboptimal nutrition during lactation on milk protein gene expression in the rat.

Human milk provides infants with proteins that aid in the prevention of infections and facilitate the digestion and absorption of other nutrients. Maternal diet is not believed to affect the protein concentration of breast milk. However, the maternal factors that regulate the expression of genes for specific milk proteins are not well characterized. We hypothesized that nutrition could be one of the factors. We fed Sprague-Dawley rats five diets representing common nutrient deficiencies and energy deficiency during pregnancy and lactation: low-zinc (Zn; 7 microg/g), low-iron (Fe; 6 microg/g), low-protein (12.5% albumin), pair-fed control diet (lactation only, 20% less kcal) and control diet (Zn, 25 microg/g; Fe, 100 mug/g; protein, 21%) ad libitum. At day 10 of lactation, the mammary gland was removed for RNA extraction. Northern blots of mRNA from the different groups were performed by hybridization with beta-casein and whey acidic protein (WAP) cDNA probes. The expression of beta-casein mRNA in rat mammary gland was significantly (P<.005) increased in the pair-fed group when compared to the control group. The expression of WAP mRNA was also significantly (P<.005) increased in the pair-fed group as well as in the low-Fe group when compared to the control group. The concentration of beta-casein in milk was significantly higher for the low-zinc and the pair-fed groups only. The concentration of WAP in milk was not different among groups. These results suggest that compromised maternal nutrition can affect the expression of two individual milk proteins and may have functional implications with regard to bioactive proteins in milk.

Validación de un instrumento para vigilar la inseguridad alimentaria en la Sierra de Manantlán, Jalisco / Validation of an instrument to monitor food insecurity in Sierra de Manantlán, Jalisco

OBJETIVO: Validar una versión de la Escala de Seguridad Alimentaria (FSS) en comunidades de la Sierra de Manatlán, Jalisco. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Usando grupos focales se modificó la FSS. Posteriormente se aplicó una encuesta a mujeres con niños preescolares. La FSS se validó correlacionándola con el inventario de alimentos del hogar y con la variedad de dieta de la entrevistada. La encuesta incluyó un cuestionario socio-económico. RESULTADOS: El 44 por ciento de los hogares indicaron inseguridad alimentaria leve, 33 por ciento hambre moderada y 19.7 por ciento hambre severa. La inseguridad alimentaria estuvo inversamente correlacionada con el inventario de alimentos (r=-0.36**), alimentos de origen animal (r=-0.28**), lácteos (r=-0.25**), alimentos procesados (r=-0.37**), frutas (r=-0.21*) y verduras (r=-0.28**); *p<0.05, **p< 0.01. La inseguridad alimentaria estuvo asociada a la baja variedad de dieta (r=-0.23; p=0.02). Estas asociaciones se mantuvieron en modelos multivariados. CONCLUSIONES: La FSS es un instrumento útil para vigilar la inseguridad alimentaria en zonas rurales de Jalisco.

[Validation of an instrument to monitor food insecurity in Sierra de Manantlán, Jalisco]. / Validación de un instrumento para vigilar la inseguridad alimentaria en la Sierra de Manantlán, Jalisco.

OBJECTIVE: To validate a version of the Food Security Scale (FSS) in communities located in Sierra de Manantlán, Jalisco. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Using focus groups, the FSS was modified to fit the Mexican context. Subsequently, a survey was applied to women with pre-school aged children. The FSS was validated in correlation with a household food inventory and the dietary variety of the individual being interviewed. The interview also included a socioeconomic questionnaire. RESULTS: Forty-four percent of the households reported mild food insecurity, 33% reported moderate hunger and 19.7% reported severe hunger. Food insecurity was significantly and inversely correlated with the number of food items in the household (r=-0.36**), animal source foods (r=-0.28**), dairy products (r=-0.25*), processed foods (r=-0.37**), fruits (r=-0.21*), and vegetables (r=-0.28**); *p<0.05, **p< 0.01. Food insecurity was also associated with low dietary variety (r=-0.23, p=0.02). These associations were maintained in multivariate models. CONCLUSIONS: The FSS is a useful tool for monitoring food insecurity in rural regions of Jalisco.