Document Type

Research Brief

Date

10-1-2025

Keywords

Food insecurity; childhood nutrition; equity; culturally responsive interventions; family well-being; participatory action research; parental stress; early childhood; policy recommendations; SNAP; WIC; CACFP, briefs

Language

Eng

Disciplines

International and Community Nutrition

Description/Abstract

Food insecurity continues to affect millions of U.S. families, with nearly one in ten households with children struggling to consistently access nutritious food. This policy brief explores equity-focused solutions to childhood nutrition and family well-being, drawing on insights from parents of young children in low-income, culturally diverse households in Syracuse, New York. Through a participatory action research approach, parents shared their experiences, challenges, and hopes for improving their children’s eating habits and preserving cultural food traditions. The findings reveal that while parents are committed to providing healthy meals, systemic barriers such as financial constraints, limited access to culturally relevant foods, and stress around mealtimes undermine their efforts. The brief emphasizes the importance of culturally responsive, family-centered interventions and recommends policy actions that enhance food access, reduce stress in feeding dynamics, and integrate cultural relevance into early childhood nutrition programs

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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