← LeaderboardsInvestigatorsiAttributed = a PI's even-split share of each grant — a $1M grant with 2 PIs counts $500K each.
Public Health Foundation Enterprises, Inc.
$-4,096,360
Total funding
2
Grants
Funding over time
peak $299.5K · FY2010–25$500K$375K$250K$125K$0
'10
'11
'12
'13
'14
'15
'16
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24
'25
Funding mix
By agency
USDA$299,547 · 1
DOE$-4,395,907 · 1
By mechanism
—$-4,096,360 · 2
Investigators at Public Health Foundation Enterprises, Inc.
InvestigatorsiAttributed = a PI's even-split share of each grant — a $1M grant with 2 PIs counts $500K each.
Exposure= the full size of every grant they're on ($1M each).
Rising Stars
First grant in the last 5 yrs
Not enough data
Emerging Leaders
6–10 yrs in
Not enough data
All-Time
Most funded here, all years
Not enough data
Largest grants
LOW EARLY CHILDHOOD DIET QUALITY IS COMMON AMONG CHILDREN IN THE US, AND DIET PATTERNS PERSIST INTO ADULTHOOD, CONTRIBUTING TO OBESITY AND CHRONIC DISEASE RISK ACROSS THE LIFE COURSE. TO SUPPORT HEALTHY DIETS DURING PREGNANCY, THE POSTPARTUM PERIOD, AND EARLY CHILDHOOD, THE US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA) MANAGES THE SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN (WIC), SERVING 6.2 MILLION PARTICIPANTS LIVING IN LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS MONTHLY IN 2021. WIC PROVIDES FOUR CORE SERVICES INCLUDING SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD PACKAGES REDEEMABLE FOR SPECIFIC HEALTHY FOODS AT APPROVED VENDORS, NUTRITION EDUCATION, BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT, AND HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICE REFERRALS. WIC PARTICIPATION HAS BEEN LINKED TO POSITIVE NUTRITIONAL OUTCOMES. DIET QUALITY OF WIC-PARTICIPATING CHILDREN IMPROVED AFTER WIC FOOD PACKAGES WERE ALIGNED WITH THE DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS IN 2009, AND ADDITIONAL REVISION OF WIC FOOD PACKAGES WILL OCCUR BY APRIL 2026.THE HEALTHY FOODS IN WIC FOOD PACKAGES COULD IMPROVE DIETS THROUGHOUT EARLY CHILDHOOD GIVEN THE WIDE REACH OF THE PROGRAM INTO LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, BUT INCOMPLETE FOOD BENEFIT UTILIZATION MAY LIMIT WIC'S IMPACT ON IMPROVING NUTRITIONAL OUTCOMES. BARRIERS TO ACCESSING HEALTHY FOODS, SUCH AS LIMITED GEOGRAPHIC ACCESS TO GROCERY STORES, HAVE BEEN PROPOSED AS A SOURCE OF UNDERLYING DISPARITIES IN DIET QUALITY AND DIET-RELATED CHRONIC DISEASES. THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE 2009 WIC FOOD PACKAGE CHANGE AND REDUCED CHILD OBESITY WAS MODIFIED BY THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOOD ENVIRONMENT, SUGGESTING THAT BARRIERS TO WIC BENEFIT REDEMPTION - LIKE LIMITED GEOGRAPHIC ACCESS TO WIC VENDORS - COULD LIMIT WIC PARTICIPATION'S IMPACT ON OUTCOMES INCLUDING HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY AND CHILD DIET QUALITY VIA ASSOCIATIONS OF VENDOR ACCESS WITH BENEFIT UTILIZATION. DATA ON RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN WIC VENDOR ACCESS, HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY, AND CHILD DIET AMONG PARTICIPANTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED. OUR OVERALL GOAL IS TO MAXIMIZE WIC'S IMPACT ON NUTRITIONAL OUTCOMES AMONG CHILDREN IN THE US, BY INFORMING EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTIONS TO OPTIMIZE HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY AND HEALTHY DIETARY BEHAVIORS AMONG WIC PARTICIPANTS.OBJECTIVE 1 WILL USE EXISTING DATA OF WIC-PARTICIPATING CHILDREN TO EXPLORE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN ACCESS TO WIC VENDORS AROUND THE RESIDENCE (INCLUDING PROXIMITY, DENSITY AND VENDOR TYPE) WITH BENEFIT UTILIZATION, HOW VENDOR ACCESS AND BENEFIT UTILIZATION CONTRIBUTE TO HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY AND CHILD DIETARY BEHAVIORS, AND HOW VENDOR ACCESS CONTRIBUTES TO GROUP-LEVEL DIFFERENCES IN WIC BENEFIT UTILIZATION, HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY, AND CHILD DIETARY BEHAVIORS. CROSS-SECTIONAL DATA ON HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY AND CHILD DIET THAT WERE COLLECTED AS PART OF THE 2023 CALIFORNIA STATEWIDE WIC SURVEY WILL BE MERGED WITH WIC ADMINISTRATIVE DATA ON WIC BENEFIT REDEMPTION AND THE LOCATION OF THE RESIDENCE TO ASSESS THESE RELATIONSHIPS IN A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF WIC-PARTICIPATING FAMILIES IN CALIFORNIA,FROM 2023. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS DATA ON THE LOCATION OF WIC-APPROVED VENDORS WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE PARTICIPANT ACCESS TO WIC VENDORS AROUND THE HOME. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS AND REGRESSION ANALYSIS WILL BE USED TO ASSESS THESE RELATIONSHIPS.OBJECTIVE 2 WILL USE PROSPECTIVELY COLLECTED LONGITUDINAL DATA ON WIC-PARTICIPATING CHILDREN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO EXPLORE ASSOCIATIONS OF THE 2026 WIC FOOD PACKAGE REVISIONS WITH WIC BENEFIT REDEMPTION, HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY AND CHILD DIET, AND WHETHER ACCESS TO WIC VENDORS AROUND THE RESIDENCE (INCLUDING PROXIMITY, DENSITY AND VENDOR TYPE) MODIFIES THESE ASSOCIATIONS. THE BASELINE AND FOLLOW-UP SURVEYS WILL BE ADMINISTERED ONLINE IN JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2026 AND JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2027, RESPECTIVELY. WIC ADMINISTRATIVE DATA ON BENEFIT REDEMPTION AND THE LOCATION OF THE RESIDENCE OF RESPONDENTS WILL BE MERGED WITH SURVEY DATA. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS DATA ON THE LOCATION OF WIC-APPROVED VENDORS WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE PARTICIPANT ACCESS TO WIC VENDORS AROUND THE HOME. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS AND REGRESSION ANALYSIS WILL BE USED TO ASSESS THESE RELATIONSHIPS.OBJECTIVE 3 WILL ENCOMPASS SEEKING INTERPRETATION FROM WIC PARTICIPANTS AND STAFF- AS KEY STAKEHOLDERS - OF THE PROJECT FINDINGS, ENABLING THE DEVELOPMENT OF EVIDENCE-BASED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WIC PROGRAM INTERVENTIONS THAT ARE RESPONSIVE TO PARTICIPANT AND STAFF NEEDS TO OPTIMIZE HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY AND DIET QUALITY AMONG PARTICIPANTS. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED VIA QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF TRANSCRIPTS OF THREE FOCUS GROUPS COMPLETED WITH CAREGIVERS OF A WIC-PARTICIPATING CHILDREN AND TWO FOCUS GROUPS WITH WIC LOCAL AGENCY STAFF.THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TOCONDUCT RESEARCH THAT WILL INFORM THE DESIGN OF EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTIONS TO IMPROVE HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY AND DIETARY BEHAVIORS AMONG WIC PARTICIPANTS. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP EVIDENCE ABOUT HOW ACCESS TO WIC-APPROVED VENDORS VARIES AMONG PARTICIPATING HOUSEHOLDS ANDHOW IT CONTRIBUTES TO BENEFIT REDEMPTION, HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY, AND CHILD DIET QUALITY. THIS EVIDENCE WILL BE DISSEMINATED IN PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS, AND A NON-TECHNICAL REPORT OF PROJECT FINDINGS TO SHARE WITH PRACTITIONERS AND POLICY MAKERS. THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY EVIDENCE TO FACILITATE THE IDENTIFICATION OF AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVING ACCESS TO WIC FOOD BENEFITS AMONG PARTICIPANTS, POTENTIALLY BY EXPANDING ACCESS TO WIC VENDORS. IF THIS GOAL IS MET, THE WIC PROGRAM WILL HAVE STRONGER TOOLS AT ITS DISPOSAL TO ADDRESS INCOMPLETE BENEFIT REDEMPTION AMONG PARTICIPANTS AND TO SUPPORT IMPROVEMENTS IN CHILD DIET AND HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY AMONG WIC-PARTICIPATING FAMILIES. THIS COULD HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT ON THE BURDEN OF LOW EARLY CHILDHOOD DIET QUALITY IN THE US, AS A SUBSTANTIAL PROPORTION OF CHILDREN PARTICIPATE IN THE WIC PROGRAM BEFORE AGE 5 YEARS.$299,547
· FY2025 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
NATIONAL FREEDOM PRIZE AWARDS$-4,395,907
· FY2010 · Department of Energy