Improving food access and nutrition for teens in low-income neighborhoods
Official title: [R01] Prioritizing food systems interventions to reduce adolescents’ nutrition insecurity and malnutrition in low-income settings
Funded at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences · NIH-11373821 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will try community-led ways to make healthy food more available and affordable for teenagers living in low-income urban areas.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 1, 2024 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $13,786 |
| NIH project number | 3R01HD113723-02S2 |
| Project ID | NIH-11373821 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are adolescents about 12–20 years old living in low-income urban neighborhoods (including informal settlements) who can join workshops and answer surveys.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not adolescents or who live outside the target low-income urban areas are unlikely to see direct benefits from this specific project.
What this research studies
You would be part of a project working directly with adolescents and local communities in Nairobi, Kenya to understand how where you live shapes what you eat. Researchers will run participatory workshops with young people, gather surveys and local data on food access and diets, and build models to see which changes could help the most. They will compare informal settlements and formal neighborhoods to find solutions that fit different settings. The work centers adolescents' real-life experiences so recommended actions are practical for daily life.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the project could lead to community and policy changes that make healthy foods easier and cheaper for adolescents to get.
How similar studies have gone: Community-participatory and systems-thinking approaches have shown promise for shaping food policies, but using them specifically for adolescents in informal urban settlements is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
Newark, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Downs, Shauna — Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Downs, Shauna
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.