The aim of the Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP) system is to rank, label, and organize food pantry items according to whether they should be consumed often (green), sometimes (yellow), or rarely (red), using a stoplight system in accordance with the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This study assessed the nutritional quality of inventory available at six food pantries before and after implementing SWAP. The hypothesis was that the intervention would encourage efforts to procure healthier foods.

Six food pantries participated in the study. At baseline, the inventory was assessed over 4 weeks in the summer of 2016. The percentage of red, yellow, and green foods was calculated by food category. The intervention was implemented from October 2016 to June 2017. The follow-up inventory assessment occurred during 4 weeks in the summer of 2017. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to assess whether the nutritional quality of food pantry inventory (measured by SWAP rank) improved post-intervention, adjusting for time trends and food category fixed effects.

Marlene Schwartz discusses how COVID-19 changed the school foodservice environment with JAND Editor-in-Chief Linda Snetselaar, PhD, RDN, LD, FAND, including challenges, innovations, and lessons learned that could impact school foodservice and policy in the future.

Full citation: Stowers KC, Martin KS, Read M, et al. Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP): changes to inventory in six food pantries over one year. Journal of Public Health. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01350-8

Full Citation: Fleming-Milici F, Harris JL. Food marketing to children in the United States: Can industry voluntarily do the right thing for children’s health?. Physiol Behav. 2020;227:113139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113139

Full citation: Schwartz MB, Piekarz-Porter E, Read MA, Chriqui JF. Wellness School Assessment Tool Version 3.0: An Updated Quantitative Measure of Written School Wellness Policies. Preventing Chronic Disease. 2020;17:E52. Published 2020 Jul 2. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd17.190373

Many health care professionals are concerned about their patients’ weight, but unsure how to best discuss this topic with their patients. After first identifying any potential lifestyle behaviors that may be contributing to body weight, health care professionals can use motivational interviewing techniques to support patients in making health behavior changes.

In situations where health care providers deem it necessary to discuss weight with their patients, using the following guidelines may help both patients and providers feel more comfortable with these conversations, and may increase patients’ receptivity to providers’ messages.

Sugary drink consumption by children and teens is a significant public health concern, with teens and young adults consuming more sugary drinks than other age groups. Consumption is also higher among low-income and Black non-Hispanic and MexicanAmerican youth, raising additional concerns about health disparities affecting low-income and communities of color. Utilizing the same methods as previous FACTS reports, researchers collected data on the nutrition quality of 48 sugary drink brands (those with $100,000 or more in 2018 advertising spending). This report summary explains the findings.

This infographic summarizes key findings from the Rudd Center’s Sugary Drink FACTS 2020 report, which assesses nutrition content and 2018 advertising spending, TV advertising exposure, and targeted advertising for sugary drinks.

All sugary drinks have a nutrition facts panel. Use this sheet as a guide to help you navigate the information it contains.