Outreach & Engagement Programs and Scholars Database

This organization works with community members to increase awareness and involve additional community stakeholders in groups (e.g., additional community HAT teams) to decrease food insecurity and improve SNAP recipients' consumption of healthy foods. This organization empowers audiences to enhance diet quality within budget strategies (e.g., pantry foods for adults to cook at home, recognizing local farmers' produce in groceries. The overall goal of this integrated project is to improve diet quality and decrease chronic disease risk factors in low-income adults using a multi-level, equity-oriented intervention, combining personalized nutrition education (PNE) enhanced with digital food and nutrition literacy (DFNL), digital food access, and communication ("Smart Nutrition"") and community collaboration to improve access to nutritious, culturally acceptable, and affordable diets.

Contact: Valerie Duffy

Email: valerie.duffy@uconn.edu

Keywords: nutrition education; low-income; food access; diet quality; mobile health; equity; social media; community-based participatory research; obesity prevention; health promotion; SNAP-Ed; partnerships

Website: https://healthyfamilyct.cahnr.uconn.edu/

Community Partners: Multiple community partners in Willimantic, Windham Counties, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New London County, New Britain, Vernon, West Harford, Bristol

Grant Funded Agency: SNAP-Ed through CT DSS and USDA/FNS and new funding from USDA/NIFA/AFRI (PDs - Drs. Ock Chun, Michael Puglisi, Valeri Duffy)

Scope: In-State