Healthy Eating Research

12/31/2025

⏳ Last Chance to Make an Impact!
Healthy Eating Research (HER) is working to fill critical evidence gaps and influence policy for a healthier future—but we can’t do it without you.
Join us in this fight. Make your year-end gift today and help ensure every child has access to healthy food.
👉 Donate now https://www.gifts.duke.edu/?designation=391000051

12/29/2025

What a year! 🎉
From celebrating our 20th anniversary to launching new research initiatives, this year was full of impact. Explore the biggest moments, key accomplishments, and what’s ahead for 2026 in our latest blog post.
👉 Read the full recap

December 22, 2025 | Building Evidence to Prevent Childhood Obesity | Healthy Eating Research 2025 Highlights

12/25/2025

Wishing you a season full of joy, connection, and nourishing traditions. At Healthy Eating Research, we’re all about making healthy choices easier for families and communities. Here’s to healthy holidays and a brighter, healthier new year! 💚

12/23/2025

New Study Highlights Need for Stronger Support for Early Childhood Nutrition 🍎
A new HER-funded study reveals that Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) participants recommend higher reimbursements and fewer barriers to strengthen early childhood nutrition.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) provides nutritious meals and snacks to more than 4.5 million children nationwide. To understand the impact of temporary COVID-era changes—like eliminating tiered reimbursements and increasing rates—the Nutrition Policy Institute interviewed family child care providers, sponsoring organizations, and families in 2023–2024.

Key Findings:
✅ Eliminating tiering and increasing reimbursement rates improved food budgets and meal quality.
✅ Providers still face challenges: administrative burdens, inadequate reimbursements, and strict regulations.
✅ Families value CACFP for offering a variety of healthy, high-quality foods for their children.

One provider shared: “The funding is a big challenge… It’s very difficult to feed a child healthy fresh fruit and whole grains for 25 cents per child. You just can’t do it… A lot of people are choosing to quit the program because they say it’s not worth it.”

Bottom line: To ensure strong program access and impact, CACFP needs higher reimbursement rates and reduced participation barriers.

📖 Read the full study in Public Health Nutrition: https://buff.ly/PYrBjmA

12/19/2025

When nutrition programs are cut, children and families suffer. HER is working to fill critical evidence gaps and influence policy for a healthier future.
Join us in this fight. Make your year-end gift today.
👉 https://www.gifts.duke.edu/?designation=391000051

12/18/2025

No one should feel ashamed for seeking help. But stigma around food assistance, whether from others or built into the system, can stop people from getting the support they need. This new study dives into how shame and discrimination affect access to food banks and nutrition programs, and what we can do to change that.
Read the full blog post:

December 17, 2025 | Building Evidence to Prevent Childhood Obesity | How Stigma Impacts Participant Experiences with Food Security Programs

12/17/2025

Kids are constantly exposed to digital food ads through the online platforms they visit as well as through the people and places around them, like friends and schools. If you are looking for ways to reduce your kids’ exposure to online food ads, start here:

SET DIGITAL BOUNDARIES

1. Choose commercial-free content for younger kids.

2. Set mobile device-free zones and times, like meals and bedtime.

3. Model good online behavior by setting personal digital boundaries and protecting digital privacy.

PROTECT YOUR KIDS’ DIGITAL PRIVACY

1. Set privacy settings as high as possible - Disable location tracking, data sharing, third-party cookies, and advertising when possible.

2. Skip it if not required - Don’t provide info that’s not needed when making an account.

3. Clean their devices - Remove apps they don’t use and clean cookies and browsing history.

4. Clean online profiles - Delete profiles they don’t use and remove comments

12/12/2025

School meals feed nearly 30 million kids every day. But new federal policy changes could make it harder for children to get the healthy meals they need. Cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, and local food programs risk increasing hunger and straining schools. HER’s latest commentary explains what’s at stake:

Building Evidence to Prevent Childhood Obesity | From Policy to Plate: Implications of 2025 U.S. Federal Policy Changes on School Meals

12/09/2025

Ending universal free school meals doesn’t just affect budgets—it affects kids. A new HER-funded research study shows rising meal debt, heightened stigma, and declining program participation when these programs are cut. States that continue universal meals and access for every child see stronger revenues and healthier students.

📖 Read the full study: Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior00334-3/fulltext

To examine the impact of deimplementing universal free school meal (UFSM) policies on school food authorities (SFAs) vs continuing UFSM with state-level policies.

12/04/2025

Kids deserve nourishing meals made from real, fresh ingredients. But with ultra-processed foods so common in the U.S. food supply—and growing evidence of their harm—schools face major challenges.

A new Healthy Eating Research brief breaks down:
• What are ultra-processed foods and their health effects
• Opportunities to reduce UPFs through a continuum of scratch cooking
• Barriers schools face in transitioning to fresher meal prep
• Recommendations to support healthier school food systems

Dive into the findings and what they mean for school meal programs nationwide: https://healthyeatingresearch.org/research/upf-in-schools-brief/

11/27/2025

Wishing you a restful holiday filled with joy, renewal, and plenty of healthy, delicious food!

11/25/2025

Our recent policy webinar series is full of great tips! Sessions cover topics like strategic science, communicating research for impact, and amplifying your work using digital platforms. Read the blog post and access all three recordings here: https://bit.ly/4oZygef

November 24, 2025 | Building Evidence to Prevent Childhood Obesity | Webinar Series Recap: Research for Policy Impact