Journal Club 6: Nutrition Environment Food Pantry Assessment Tool (NEFPAT): Development and Evaluation

About the Webinar

The food and nutrition environment – which includes aspects such as food pricing, placement, marketing and promotions – is known to impact consumer behaviors. However, the impact of the food and nutrition environment in emergency food settings, which serves low-income consumers at high risk for food insecurity and poor quality diets, is less understood. This webinar will introduce viewers to the Nutrition Environment Food Pantry Assessment Tool (NEFPAT) – a novel user-friendly tool that can be used by raters to evaluate a variety of food pantry efforts to promote health through their services. Attendees will understand the components of the NEFPAT, why they were selected, and the methods used to determine validity and reliability. How to use the NEFPAT in food pantry settings will also be discussed. 

Related JNEB article. 

About the Presenters

Jennifer McCaffrey, PhD, MPH, RD, University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign
Jennifer McCaffrey is the Assistant Dean for the Family and Consumer Sciences programs at University of Illinois Extension. In her position she focuses on providing statewide leadership for Extension programs in nutrition, family relationships, and personal finance. She has extensive experience implementing programs for limited resource families and currently oversees, EFNEP and SNAP Ed in Illinois. McCaffrey earned a PhD in Public Health from the University of Illinois Chicago, Masters in Public Health from University of Minnesota, and is a registered dietitian having earned her degree in Dietetics from the University of Wisconsin.

Cassandra Nikolaus, MS, University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign
Cassandra Nikolaus is a PhD Candidate in Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Broadly, her research interests are in understanding how food decisions are made and what can be done to improve consumers’ dietary patterns. Specifically, she uses quantitative and qualitative methods to understand decisions related to food preparation, food waste, and environmental influences. In addition to her graduate training, Cassandra has worked with University of Illinois Extension for the last three years to support research and evaluation endeavors. She received her MS in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign after receiving her BS in Dietetics at Central Washington University.