Healthy Food Environments: How States, Schools and Child Care Can Make Healthy Food Easy

Chronic diseases cause 70% of all U.S. deaths every year, and poor diets contribute to many of them — heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Some communities, and people with lower incomes, are more likely to lack convenient places selling affordable, healthier food; when healthy food isn't there, people may settle for food higher in calories and lower in nutrition.

Making healthy food available and affordable in key places lets people choose better. States, communities, early care and education programs and schools can each build a healthy food environment.

Where people get food

Strategies that work

• Food service or nutrition standards in many settings — hospitals, worksites, food banks and pantries;
• incentives for food retailers, farmers' markets included, to open in underserved areas;
• working with partners and industry to improve the supply of healthy food;
• behavioral design — such as pricing and placement — to steer food and drink choices;
• linking local food hubs to small businesses that sell or serve food;
• supporting farm-to-institution programs.

CDC's two-page Healthy Food Environments infographic, made to share with decision-makers and partners.

States and communities

Health departments and community groups can focus on two strategies, working with partners on shared concerns such as health access, environmental sustainability, waste reduction, economic development and cultural food preferences.

1. Food service and nutrition guidelines. Health departments can apply the Food Service Guidelines for Federal Facilities in state- and locally run facilities, and:

• encourage recreation centers, colleges, hospitals and other worksites to adopt them;
• bring together leadership and wellness staff at those institutions;
• reach professional organizations, such as hospital associations, with technical help and training.

Food banks and pantries are recommended the Healthy Eating Research Nutrition Guidelines for the Charitable Food System. CDC's implementation toolkit and tips for healthier workplace meetings and events help.

2. Fruit and vegetable voucher incentives and produce prescriptions. Health departments can:

• provide state benefit coverage for patients enrolled;
• back local policies that make it easier for retailers to accept incentives or prescriptions;
• work with Medicaid — state agencies, payers and health systems — to start, expand and evaluate programs;
• help local programs find funding for pilots, buying produce and nutrition education.

More: CDC's voucher incentives and produce prescriptions, the Nutrition Incentive Hub, and Food Assistance and Food System Resources for households in need.

Early care and education

Early care and education (ECE) programs can use science-based practices to get children eating and drinking healthier and to support breastfeeding families. The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program reimburses programs for supporting breastfeeding parents and serving healthy meals and snacks, and offers free resources and training. See CDC's strategies and resources for ECE.

Schools

• Follow the nutrition standards for school meals — the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program — and the Smart Snacks in School standards for food sold in vending machines, school stores and other à la carte outlets.
• Leadership and parent-teacher organizations can buy salad bars together.
• Encourage water instead of sugary drinks, and provide free drinking water before, during and after school.

More: CDC on school nutrition, water access in schools and evidence-based strategies.

What CDC does

Sources

Based on "Healthy Food Environments," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The source's two photographs are stock pictures of posed models and are not reproduced.