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Research and Evaluation

Measuring the impact of The Food Trust's work

RECENT NEWS

The Food Trust on Camera

How can supermarkets and corner stores help reverse childhood obesity? This video, created by The Food Trust and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, highlights The Food Trust's work to educate youth about good nutrition and help supermarkets and corner stores develop strategies to encourage children to choose healthy foods.

Learn more: Harnessing the Power of Supermarkets(video)

Did you know that Philadelphia and Pennsylvania use geospatial and GIS to help fund and locate supermarkets in underserved communities? Penn State Public Broadcasting's Geospatial Revolution Project is an integrated public media and outreach initiative about the world of digital mapping and how it is changing the way we think, behave, and interact.

Learn more: Geospatial Revolution: Finding a Healthy Future(video)


The Food Trust’s Research & Evaluation team measures the impact of our organization’s direct programming, education and policy work.

We aim to share knowledge with and strengthen the work of other organizations, projects and individuals in order to achieve affordable nutritious food for all people. We integrate research initiatives into our program efforts in order to document success, build on lessons learned and create models for replication.

Recent findings

  • On June 24–25, 2010, more than 60 public health leaders, food retailers, food manufacturers, consumer product designers and marketers met in Philadelphia for a groundbreaking conference to discuss how to make it easier for parents, caregivers and youths to select and purchase healthier foods, including those with fewer excess calories, in grocery stores. Co-hosted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and The Food Trust, this meeting was the first to address the vital role supermarkets play in providing access to healthy affordable foods in all communities, and the unique role they can play in reversing childhood obesity in lower-income and multiethnic communities.

Learn more: Harnessing the Power of Supermarkets to
Help Reverse Childhood Obesity (PDF)

  • A comprehensive school nutrition policy developed by The Food Trust and implemented in elementary schools in Philadelphia included nutrition education, healthy food requirements, staff training, and family and community involvement. A study found that the effort reduced the incidence of childhood overweight in students by 50% over two years.

Learn more: Pediatrics: A Policy-Based School Intervention
to Prevent Overweight and Obesity (PDF)
 

  • Our research and mapping of gaps in food access in the state of Pennsylvania provided the groundwork for creation of the statewide Fresh Food Financing Initiative, a model program to encourage the development of food retail in underserved communities. Our methodology has been replicated in other states to document grocery gaps and highlight areas for change.

Learn more: Health Affairs: Policy Solutions to the "Grocery Gap"

  • The Food Trust also has an ongoing collaboration with Temple University’s Center for Obesity Research and Education in order to employ a rigorous study design to document the impact of our community education efforts in corner stores and schools. A baseline study found that students shopping at corner stores purchase an average of 356 calories per visit -- and many visit the corner store twice a day.

Learn more: Pediatrics: Snacking in Children: The Role
of Urban Corner Stores (PDF)

 

Noteworthy Publications

Lehmann Y, Morland K, Godbold J. Supermarkets: Components of causality for healthy diets. Archives of Internal Medicine 2012; 172: 195-196.

Hiller A, Cannuscio, C, Karpyn A, McLaughlin J, Chilton M, Glanz K. How far do low-income parents travel for food? Urban Geography 2011; 32(5):712-729.

Young C, Karpyn A, Uy N, Wich K, Glyn J. Farmers' markets in low income communities: Impact of community environment, food programs and public policy. Community Development 2011; 42(2):208-220.

Karpyn A, Manon M, Treuhaft S, Giang T, Harries C, McCoubrey K. Policy solutions to the grocery gap. Health Affairs 2010; 29(3):473-80.

Borradaile K, Sherman S, Vander Veur S, McCoy T, Sandoval B, Nachmani J, Karpyn A, Foster G. Snacking in children: The role of urban corner stores. Pediatrics 2009; 124(5):1293-1298.

Gidding SS, Lichtenstein AH, Faith MS, Karpyn A, Mennella JA, Popkin B, Rowe J, Van Horn L, and Whitsel L. Implementing American Heart Association Pediatric and Adult Nutrition Guidelines: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee. Circulation 2009; 119:1161-1175.

Foster G, Sherman S, Borradaile K, Grundy K, Vander Veur S, Nachmani J, Karpyn A, Kumanyika S, Shults J. A policy-based school intervention to prevent overweight and obesity. Pediatrics 2008; 121(4):e794-e802.

Giang T, Karpyn A, Laurison H, Hillier A, Perry D. Pennsylvania’s Fresh Food Financing Initiative. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice 2008; 14(3):272-279.