Schuster’s Blog: A proposed new definition of a ‘healthy’ claim for food and a new look at foods like SlimFast, pizza and more!

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Monday November 7, 2022

FDA’s proposed ‘healthy’ claim: background, reactions, impact…

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The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health – now what?

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Monday October 24, 2022 The recent conference, now in the rearview mirror, was historic considering the last one of its kind was in 1969.

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Schuster’s Blog: High food prices: private labels, other deals/strategies

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Wednesday October 5, 2022 How times have changed! Store brands/private/generic labels were considered as inferior to brand names just a few years ago. The

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Schuster’s Blog: Universal school meals, ultra-processed food, Lucky Charms update and more.

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Monday September 26, 2022 As some states support school meals, some colleges cut back on dining options, a new cereal on-the-go (no milk needed),

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Schuster’s Blog: School Meals and More

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Friday September 2, 2022 As students head back to school, school meal challenges continue (supply chain issues, staffing, need to charge for meals, school

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Social media, on shelves, sports gambling in grocery stores & more

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Monday August 15, 2022 Two stories of note:
  • This fall UMass Amherst will be the first university to provide ratings of the carbon footprint of

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Food and Food Buying News

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Tuesday August 2, 2022 From the consumer lens… **INFLATION/ONLINE SHOPPING/COUPONS/BUY NOW PAY LATER (BNPL)/IMPULSE BUYING & SOCIAL MEDIA/SHOPPABLE CONTENT: Inflation prompts interest in food private

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Schusterer’s Blog — Health and Wellness

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Friday July 15, 2022 In an overview, six categories of retail health and wellness are identified:
  1. health
  2. fitness
  3. wellness-oriented nutrition
  4. wellness-oriented appearance (Twinings Glow

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Food environment changes…are these the changes we want?

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Wednesday March 9, 2022 Scanning the changing food environment is interesting but sometimes scary. Note this: Is the future of food the future we

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2022 Deep Dives: Food Delivery, Food Recalls, Food as a Lifestyle, and More!

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Wednesday January 19, 2022 It’s 2022 and time to dive deep into some issues: food e-commerce (buying produce online; how fast food delivery affects

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What Will Trend In 2022?

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Monday January 3, 2022 Overview: This year’s 2022 predictions are very consistent,  popular trends include: foods/ingredients that support health/brain health, foods to address immunity

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The Latest in Food and Tech

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Thursday December 2, 2021 Projected online grocery shopping, food delivery more expensive, food pickup, grocery smart carts, social media marches on in the food

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Text to shop, buy now, pay later for groceries…oh my!

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Wednesday November 10, 2021 Food is increasingly easier to access with online shoppable content, Walmart’s testing of text to shop and other developments. In

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FDA Summit: Ensuring the Safety of Foods Ordered Online and Delivered Directly to Consumers

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Monday November 1, 2021 The summit has ended but you can view it online (links to each day is below). AgendaComments/input to FDA

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Inequity, Diversity, The Ethnic Aisle, Food Dignity and More…

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Thursday October 14, 2021 A collection of resources, thought-provoking articles (cultural humility and the Thrifty Food Plan, food photography diversity, the ‘ethnic’ aisle, the

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2020 – 2025 DGA-related free online recorded webinars and other resources

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Wednesday September 15, 2021 Updated HHS DGAs toolkit includes consumer fact sheets Webinars... 3-part webinar series on the 2020 DGAs (American Society for Nutrition) -

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School Meal Challenges as the 2021/2022 School Year Begins

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Tuesday August 31, 2021 It’s the perfect storm...increased food and fuel prices, vendors closing or deciding to no longer work with school districts, drought,

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Is Hosting a Podcast in Your Future?

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Tuesday July 6, 2021 In 2005 ‘podcast’ became the ‘word of the year’ according to New Oxford Dictionary. In 8 short years, 2013, Apple

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Having a hard time keeping track of plant-based options?

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Wednesday June 16, 2021 Plant-based options are virtually everywhere yet there may be some surprises about where you can find them below. This is

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Cool plant-based ice creams are hot; DIY frozen treats

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Tuesday June 1, 2021 Have you seen the crowded the ice cream with its many vegan/plant-based options? Read on to see how they fare

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More Views of the Future

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Wednesday May 12, 2021 Additional perspectives on 2021 trends, pandemic changes and online grocery shopping and older adults. At the close of 2020 I

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Two Views of the Food System: Food Everywhere / Vegetarian Food Relief

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Monday April 26, 2021 Food is everywhere...accessible if you can afford it yet many are food insecure. And some of the food insecure are

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The State of SNAP and Online E-commerce

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Friday April 16, 2021
SNAP online grocery e-commerce has grown exponentially in a short period of time. What is the retail perspective? The

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BIPOC & Women-Centered Food and Agriculture

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Friday April 16, 2021 If you are not currently aware of how to find BIPOC/women-owned/operated farms, food boxes, food brands, dining and more, read

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Best Plant-Based Food Retailers; BIPOC and Vegan/Plant-Based Eating

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Tuesday March 2, 2021 Plant-based continues to have a high profile in foodservice and food retail. The term appeared in the 1970s and

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Be Caffeine Aware for Caffeine Awareness Month (March)

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Wednesday February 17, 2021 Created by the Caffeine Awareness Alliance formed in 2003 to advocate for a caffeine-free industry, this caffeine awareness observance is

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Do Supermarkets Help Shoppers Find Healthy Groceries Online? How do Retailers Increase Online Impulse Buys?

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Tuesday February 2, 2021 The digital grocery shopping environment is evolving. More shoppers are online seeking healthy foods. Concurrently, retailers are already using/developing new

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Setting Goals/New Year’s Resolutions and National Pie Day

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Wednesday January 20, 2021 A new year...a new beginning? There’s limited research on the success of making New Year’s resolutions stick but setting goals

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A Look Ahead: 2021 Food/Nutrition/Fitness Trends

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Tuesday January 12, 2021 Does everyone has a list of 2021 food/nutrition trends? It seems so, there are more than a dozen here. As you read

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Good-For-Them Gifts That Are Easy On Your Wallet

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Tuesday December 15, 2020 Affordable gift ideas to promote health/physical activity, local food outlets, growing something at home and help break out of cooking

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Cooking Fatigue: How to Overcome It & Resources

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Wednesday December 2, 2020 Cooking fatigue‘ has set in...many are tired of cooking at home, cooking for no one/themselves/family. A survey of 2,000

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Reimagine this…recipes using food in new ways

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Thursday November 5, 2020 With the holidays coming maybe there’s more time to try new recipes using food in new ways. Consider using dessert

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CDC Coronavirus Halloween/holiday & other food-related guidelines; Bring PE to Your Family Week (October 19 – 23, 2020)

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Monday October 5, 2020 Two Coronavirus-related topics...First, CDC guidelines for holidays including Halloween and other food-related guidelines released during September 2020. Second, Ideas/resources for

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Community nutrition education during a pandemic

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Monday September 21, 2020 It’s impossible to capture all of the ways nutrition educators have continued to teach nutrition in the midst of a

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September is National Family Meals Month: Stay Strong with Family Meals

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Monday September 7, 2020 It’s the 6th year celebrating September as family meals month and it’s clear that in a pandemic ‘family meals’ has

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Meal kits: from delivery to grocery stores and more!

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Monday August 10, 2020 Just 3 years ago I looked at meal kits. How times have changed!  The focus

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Health Disparities, Food Marketing/Food Deserts and Food Systems

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Monday July 13, 2020 Getting started...what do we know about health disparities and systemic food injustice? (Note: A wide and complex topic such as

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On Reflecting; Let’s Start with Stories from Diverse Perspectives

Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Monday June 29, 2020 In response to the recent events SNEB has shared these helpful resources from the Food Solutions New England Network as they

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What Will School Meals Look Like When School Reopens?

college students
Posted by: Ellen Schuster, MS on Monday June 15, 2020 When school resumes in the fall (or late summer) of 2020, school foodservice will look different. Schools, already challenged by

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