Blog

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 taken on a new meaning (note the ‘stay strong’ part of the message). Many are experiencing more family meals and this has created a bit of stress and meal fatigue. Some resources... Family meals resources/recipes... Say ‘yes’ to family meals handout (2-page PDF, Iowa State University) shares benefits of family meals, challenges and solutions. Healthy rec (...)

Posted by: Rachel Daeger, CAE, IOM on Tuesday August 25, 2020 On March 11, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched “The New Nutrition Facts Label: What’s in it for You?” education campaign to raise awareness about the changes to the Nutrition Facts label. This first major update of the label in over 20 years is based on new scientific information, including the link between nutrition and chronic diseases like heart disease and certain cancers. The new label also better reflects the amount people typically eat and drink today.  T (...)

Posted by: Rachel Daeger, CAE, IOM on Monday August 24, 2020 Did we ever need 25 flavors of Oreo cookies (the number on shelves in 2019) or the many flavors/varieties in some product lines in this slideshow)? If you said ‘no,’ then you may find some solace in reduced food choices on grocery store shelves (and in fast casual/fast food restaurants) due to the pandemic. Shopping at the beginning of the pandemic has changed as compared to later in the pandemic. Currently, shoppers are visiting fewer stores and looking to have shorter, more efficient sho (...)

Posted by: Rachel Daeger, CAE, IOM on Tuesday August 11, 2020 INDIANAPOLIS (August 11, 2020) –Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior President Pam Koch EdD, RD presented comments to federal officials on behalf of the Society regarding the Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee: Advisory Report to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Her key points were: Maximize guidance to women who are pregnant and/or lactating, infants, and toddlers through 24 months. Maximize CNPP� (...)

Posted by: Susan Sisson, PhD, RDN, CHES, FACSM on Monday August 10, 2020 Although the feeding relationship is acknowledged to be bidirectional between caregivers and children, most often parenting influences on young children’s eating behaviors are investigated through the lens of how parents influence children’s eating— either for the good or the not so good. While individual differences, such as children’s temperaments or sibling differences, are often referred to as having an impact on food parenting, very seldom is the child’s influence on the parent be (...)

Posted by: Pam Koch, EdD, RD on Monday August 10, 2020 In her final JNEB presidential editorial, Jennifer Wilkins described how the COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges and opportunities.1 As I write this in early June, both the pandemic and protests for racial justice dominate the news. These crises have exacerbated the challenges we already faced: ecological threats on a planetary scale, the fragility of centralized and concentrated food systems, racial inequities in food access and health, and a food supply dominated by ultra-processed foods. (...)

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 then was on-line subscription delivery services. Though still around, meal kits are also now available from grocery stores and other locations. Read on... Why meal kits are taking over supermarkets notes that meal kits in grocery stores may be cheaper than others and they provide same-day availability. Existing partnerships between meal delivery services and grocery stores are listed. Meal kits in grocery stores� (...)

Posted by: Karen Chapman-Novakofski, PhD, RDN on Thursday August 6, 2020 Force majeure. Pandemic. Global disaster. Not phrases I ever thought I would include in a JNEB editorial. Yet, here we are. We've switched to teaching online in both the university and outreach settings. We are trying to stay in touch with friends, family, students, and colleagues. We are stretching ourselves in so many ways. But what's a researcher to do? Face-to-face research has been suspended at most universities to slow the pandemic, save lives, and ease the burden on our health care wor (...)

Posted by: Jeanette Andrade on Monday August 3, 2020 View the article collection here. Food insecurity among all age groups within the United States is an issue, especially since COVID-19, where an estimated 22-38% of US households are considered food insecure. Lack of access to nutritious foods at any age increases one’s risk for not only chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, but also impacts one’s mental health. As a scientific community, not only is it necessary to understand the complexities of food insecurity among cert (...)

Posted by: Rachel Daeger, CAE, IOM on Monday July 27, 2020 I was listening to an interview with Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Pete Buttigieg. During the interview he shared this experience...after addressing a group of people as follows: ‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ a young boy approached him. He wanted Chasten to know that his use of ‘ladies and gentlemen’ didn’t include him. This story illustrates how many of us may inadvertently exclude those in the LGBTQ+ community. Below are tips to promote inclusion. (Note: Which term should I use? shares i (...)