NSF Org:	ITE Innovation and Technology Ecosystems
Recipient:	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES
Initial Amendment Date:	December 9, 2022
Latest Amendment Date:	December 9, 2022
Award Number:	2236390
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Michael Reksulak mreksula@nsf.gov  (703)292-8326 ITE  Innovation and Technology Ecosystems TIP  Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships
Start Date:	December 15, 2022
End Date:	November 30, 2024 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$750,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$750,000.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2023 = $750,000.00
History of Investigator:	Jueyu Wu (Principal Investigator) sherry.wu@anderson.ucla.edu Eugene Caruso (Co-Principal Investigator) Stephanie Bianco (Co-Principal Investigator) Heather Caruso (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	University of California-Los Angeles 10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700 LOS ANGELES CA  US  90024-4200 (310)794-0102
Sponsor Congressional District:	36
Primary Place of Performance:	University of California-Los Angeles 110 Westwood Plaza LOS ANGELES CA  US  90095-1481
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	36
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	RN64EPNH8JC6
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	Convergence Accelerator Resrch
Primary Program Source:	01002324DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s):
Program Element Code(s):	131Y00
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.084

ABSTRACT

Millions of college students do not have access to healthy and sustainable food, undermining their ability to graduate in a nation already witnessing one-third of college students drop out. Food and nutrition insecurity also disproportionally impacts minority and low-income students, aggravating social and economic disparities and depressing the nation?s health, education, and innovation outcomes. Unfortunately, there has not yet been sufficient research to reveal where changes to this problem could have the most impact. Different federally-funded programs address various aspects of this multifaceted problem?e.g., food access, nutrition education, and the purchase and consumption of fresh whole agricultural products?but none are sufficiently engaging enough of the eligible population to deliver the desired benefit.
The current project meets this challenge with an effort to understand, converge, and improve participation in three national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP): SNAP Outreach, SNAP-Ed, and SNAP Incentive. National program convergence will include insights across academic research and program evaluation to: 1) advance understanding of what impedes?and what can increase?engagement in food assistance programs and food security; and 2) guide, test, and refine evidence-based interventions for greater healthy food access and consumption among underserved student populations. The knowledge gained and disseminated may not only reveal social and behavioral determinants of participation in SNAP, but may also inform other social welfare programs with comparable goals and target populations. Ultimately, this work will accelerate the awareness, tandem use, and impact of programs to advance health and higher education outcomes across California, and the nation.

The present project will establish convergent and actionable insights regarding the factors that drive participation in programs that address food insecurity and healthy food consumption. Led by a multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research team, the work unites methods and knowledge across psychology, economics, organizational science, statistics, and food and nutrition science. The research team also has multiple well-established SNAP contracts and the recognition from California Department of Social Services, Food and Nutrition Services, and United States Department of Agriculture.
To gain a deep understanding of the interrelated issues preventing the widespread adoption of such benefits, the first prong of the project entails a series of semi-structured interviews, statewide surveys, program evaluations, and conceptual analyses to map out how different types of stigma and misperceptions affect SNAP participation rates and food security.
A second prong of the project involves laboratory and field experiments to understand the operation of specific factors that promise positive impact, including: stigma reduction, awareness of nutrient-dense foods and SNAP benefits, and positive narratives around food security, food consumption, and food literacy.
The third prong of the project comprises an empirical evaluation of network pathways to maximizing the impact of promising interventions. This involves identifying the structure of social networks among SNAP-eligible college students, then intervening through those networks to correct misbeliefs about food assistance and to replace stigmatizing narratives around food assistance programs with empowering ones.
Finally, the project will synthesize learnings from the above activities into a handbook identifying key gaps and blindspots supporting the persistence of college food insecurity, while recommending specific, scalable strategies to overcome them.
The proposed work offers significant practical and theoretical merit. Practically, it will produce actionable recommendations for program design informed by convergent scientific literatures, evaluations of extant practice, and empirical research using multiple methods. Theoretically, it will establish new insights into the operation and impact of stigma, awareness, narrative, and other as yet undiscovered factors driving attitudes and behaviors toward food in social contexts. Together, these advances can catalyze both understanding and effectiveness of efforts to establish nationwide food security.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

Food insecurity during college is a major problem today. It hurts students’ health and academic performance, and disproportionately impacts minority and low-income students. In California, an astounding 82% of eligible college students are not accessing the free SNAP benefits they are eligible for, leaving $4.5 billion in economic impact on the table among college students alone. The present project established convergent and actionable insights regarding the factors that drive participation in programs that address food insecurity and healthy food consumption. Led by a multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research team, the work united methods and knowledge across psychology, economics, organizational science, statistics, and food and nutrition science. The research team also have multiple well-established SNAP contracts and the recognition from California Department of Social Services, Food and Nutrition Services, and United States Department of Agriculture

The team set out to understand the problem by interviewing the people most affected. We have collected data from more than 1600 SNAP-eligible people and identified stigma as one of those barriers. This takes us to our Phase 1 name: Stigma Out of SNAP ("SOS"). Inspired by this insight, in Phase 1 we developed and tested an intervention that was successful in reducing perceived stigma and increasing the likelihood that students would apply for SNAP. From our initial research with students and SNAP facilitators, we learned that the problem does not start and stop with stigma. 

To further understand and intervene on the program silos (i.e., the disconnect amongst programs and their stakeholders), we adopt a behavioral science approach. In partnership with 149 campuses, to date we have completed focus groups, interviews, and additional 6000 surveys of end-users and stakeholders, who have shined a spotlight on how much more work needs to be done. This work is critical. We continue to sound an “SOS” to reduce stigma and eliminate the harmful program silos, to ensure that our nation’s future leaders receive the food benefits they need and deserve. Phase 1 identified problems in a large existing system across CA, and specified solutions. Future research will ensure that these solutions will be implemented, so that students can participate and maximize their SNAP benefits.

In sum, the work offered significant practical and theoretical merit. Practically, it produced actionable recommendations for program design informed by convergent scientific literatures, evaluations of extant practice, and empirical research using multiple methods. Theoretically, it established new insights into the operation and impact of stigma, awareness, narrative, and other as yet undiscovered factors driving attitudes and behaviors toward food in social contexts. Together, these advances can catalyze both understanding and effectiveness of efforts to establish nationwide food security.

Last Modified: 12/16/2024
Modified by: Jueyu Wu

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