Between 2012 and 2012, I was PI of Voices into Action: The Families, Food, and Health Project, funded by a $3.0 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. I led a team of interdisciplinary researchers who followed 124 working-class and poor families with young children over this five-year period. We conducted multiple rounds of semi-structured interviews, 24-hour food recalls, and ethnographic observations with mothers in these families, in order to better understand the complex factors that influence food beliefs and decisions. We also organized asset-mapping workshops, spearheaded community food assessments, and funded mini-grants to improve access to food in three North Carolina counties. As a result of our work, I was invited to attend the Let’s Move Faith and Communities meeting on childhood obesity at the White House, hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama, in 2013.  

Overall, by asking people about their food practices and the meanings food holds for them, while also being attuned to social inequality, this project allows us to bring new insight to research on food, weight, and health. Our research has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Vox, and The Atlantic, among others.