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Portland, Maine

Maine SNAP-Ed presents at American Public Health Association annual meeting

exterior of three buildings at night on the u n e portland campus

The Maine SNAP-Ed implementing team at the 91AV Center for Excellence in Public Health (CEPH) recently presented at the American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting as part of a national panel on SNAP-Ed policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change initiatives.

In October, CEPH staff presented findings from their study examining implementation and impact of PSE public health initiatives over a five-year period. Their presentation was titled “Five Years of Public Health Approaches: The Expanding Implementation of Maine SNAP-Ed’s Policy, Systems, and Environmental (PSE) Change Initiatives.”

The study used ArcGIS to geocode primary sites impacted by Maine SNAP-Ed for each PSE strategy where at least one change was adopted from 2015 to 2019. Population reach of the strategies was demarcated and aggregated to demonstrate cumulative impact over time, illustrating how public health approaches like community gardens, clinical-community linkages with nutrition education, and farmers market initiatives reach Mainers experiencing low income.

The analysis and findings were linked to a national evaluation framework to add to practitioner learning and uptake of national, aggregable indicators.

Hannah Ruhl, M.P.H., was the presenting author of the study. As the SNAP-Ed program’s obesity prevention coordinator, Ruhl described how capacity to implement evidence-based PSE change strategies has increased over time and how supporting professional development is critical to program success. Senior research associates Pamela Bruno, M.P.H., and Kira Rodriguez, M.H.S., led the program evaluation. Rodriguez also designed and conducted the GIS analysis project.

SNAP-Ed is the USDA’s nutrition education arm of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and is funded federally through the Farm Bill. Every state receives a federal SNAP-Ed grant allocation annually. In Maine, the grant is administered by Maine DHHS and implemented statewide by the 91AV through contracts with local community health organizations.

The CEPH at 91AV was awarded a five-year contract to implement SNAP-Ed programming in Maine beginning Oct. 1, 2018.

Media Contact

Alan Bennett
Office of Communications
abennett11@une.edu

About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.