{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/132462"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/132462","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Role of Food Retailers for Integration of Nutrition Security and Planetary Health Promotion in the United States","abstract":"In the United States (U.S.), nutrition security is defined as food security and diet quality across social and economic segments of the population. Achieving nutrition security for all requires a healthy planet that can withstand the shocks and stressors of ahistoric weather patterns. Healthy food retail initiatives in the U.S. promote nutrition security through policy, systems, and environmental changes, but under-emphasize planetary health promotion. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the role of food retailers in the U.S. to integrate nutrition security and planetary health promotion. Study one examined the applicability of an existing corporate food retail benchmarking tool, the Business Impact Assessment-Obesity and population level nutrition (BIA-Obesity), for monitoring food retailer actions to advance the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health recommendations for nutrition security. Existing BIA-Obesity indicators were broadly applicable for National Strategy recommendations. Additional indicators for local foods, fairness in resource distribution, food waste reduction, and digital food environments would improve applicability of the BIA-Obesity to monitor food retailer actions towards National Strategy recommendations. Study two identified corporate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-authorized food retailer public commitments to environmental sustainability and categorized commitments by domain of environmental sustainability, using relevant Sustainable Development Goals (n=9). Content analysis of commitments showed that 31 of 48 included SNAP-authorized food retailers had commitments across environmental sustainability domains. Results can inform accountability evaluations, partnerships, and policy action. Study three explored the perceptions of 12 independent food retailers in Virginia about planetary health promotion through semi-structured interviews, with questions and coding informed by the inner and outer settings of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Food retailers were willing to play a role in planetary health promotion and identified cost and customer satisfaction as key determinants of the scope of their role. Planetary health promotion practices of interest varied by store format and community context. Corporate and independent food retailers could support planetary health if support and incentive systems align planetary health promotion with profit potential and customer satisfaction. Healthy food retail researchers and practitioners can use these results to inform expanded nutrition security programming that includes planetary health promotion.","abstract_html":"In the United States (U.S.), nutrition security is defined as food security and diet quality across social and economic segments of the population. Achieving nutrition security for all requires a healthy planet that can withstand the shocks and stressors of ahistoric weather patterns. Healthy food retail initiatives in the U.S. promote nutrition security through policy, systems, and environmental changes, but under-emphasize planetary health promotion. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the role of food retailers in the U.S. to integrate nutrition security and planetary health promotion. Study one examined the applicability of an existing corporate food retail benchmarking tool, the Business Impact Assessment-Obesity and population level nutrition (BIA-Obesity), for monitoring food retailer actions to advance the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health recommendations for nutrition security. Existing BIA-Obesity indicators were broadly applicable for National Strategy recommendations. Additional indicators for local foods, fairness in resource distribution, food waste reduction, and digital food environments would improve applicability of the BIA-Obesity to monitor food retailer actions towards National Strategy recommendations. Study two identified corporate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-authorized food retailer public commitments to environmental sustainability and categorized commitments by domain of environmental sustainability, using relevant Sustainable Development Goals (n=9). Content analysis of commitments showed that 31 of 48 included SNAP-authorized food retailers had commitments across environmental sustainability domains. Results can inform accountability evaluations, partnerships, and policy action. Study three explored the perceptions of 12 independent food retailers in Virginia about planetary health promotion through semi-structured interviews, with questions and coding informed by the inner and outer settings of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Food retailers were willing to play a role in planetary health promotion and identified cost and customer satisfaction as key determinants of the scope of their role. Planetary health promotion practices of interest varied by store format and community context. Corporate and independent food retailers could support planetary health if support and incentive systems align planetary health promotion with profit potential and customer satisfaction. Healthy food retail researchers and practitioners can use these results to inform expanded nutrition security programming that includes planetary health promotion.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["DeNunzio, Maria Nicole"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise","degree_department":"Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Misyak, Sarah A."],"committee_members":["Serrano, Elena L.","Gardezi, Syed Maaz Hassaan","Kraak, Vivica I.","Houghtaling, Bailey Elizabeth"],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05-13","date_published":"2025-05-13","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:53Z","subjects":["Food retailers","Nutrition security","Environmental sustainability","Healthy food retail","Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International"],"rights_urls":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:43543"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:43543","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/132462","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Misyak, Sarah A."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Serrano, Elena L.","Gardezi, Syed Maaz Hassaan","Kraak, Vivica I.","Houghtaling, Bailey Elizabeth"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["DeNunzio, Maria Nicole"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-05-14T08:03:21Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-05-14T08:03:21Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-05-13"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Food retailers","Nutrition security","Environmental sustainability","Healthy food retail","Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:43543"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/132462"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In the United States (U.S.), nutrition security is defined as food security and diet quality across social and economic segments of the population. Achieving nutrition security for all requires a healthy planet that can withstand the shocks and stressors of ahistoric weather patterns. Healthy food retail initiatives in the U.S. promote nutrition security through policy, systems, and environmental changes, but under-emphasize planetary health promotion. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the role of food retailers in the U.S. to integrate nutrition security and planetary health promotion. Study one examined the applicability of an existing corporate food retail benchmarking tool, the Business Impact Assessment-Obesity and population level nutrition (BIA-Obesity), for monitoring food retailer actions to advance the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health recommendations for nutrition security. Existing BIA-Obesity indicators were broadly applicable for National Strategy recommendations. Additional indicators for local foods, fairness in resource distribution, food waste reduction, and digital food environments would improve applicability of the BIA-Obesity to monitor food retailer actions towards National Strategy recommendations. Study two identified corporate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-authorized food retailer public commitments to environmental sustainability and categorized commitments by domain of environmental sustainability, using relevant Sustainable Development Goals (n=9). Content analysis of commitments showed that 31 of 48 included SNAP-authorized food retailers had commitments across environmental sustainability domains. Results can inform accountability evaluations, partnerships, and policy action. Study three explored the perceptions of 12 independent food retailers in Virginia about planetary health promotion through semi-structured interviews, with questions and coding informed by the inner and outer settings of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Food retailers were willing to play a role in planetary health promotion and identified cost and customer satisfaction as key determinants of the scope of their role. Planetary health promotion practices of interest varied by store format and community context. Corporate and independent food retailers could support planetary health if support and incentive systems align planetary health promotion with profit potential and customer satisfaction. Healthy food retail researchers and practitioners can use these results to inform expanded nutrition security programming that includes planetary health promotion."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["Healthy food retail is an established set of public health programs that operate in food retail sites to promote nutrition security among all consumers. Current initiatives leverage the design and practices of food retail sites (e.g. grocery stores, food cooperatives, convenience stores, etc.) to support availability of and access to nutritious foods. However, healthy food retail does not currently emphasize the well-being of the planet, despite the need for planetary health to support nutrition security. Three studies were conducted to form a dissertation that examined the role of food retailers in the United States (U.S.) to integrate planetary health promotion and nutrition security. Study one was a commentary that posited that an existing corporate food retail benchmarking tool, the Business Impact Assessment and population-level nutrition (BIA-Obesity) could be used in an adapted format to monitor food retailer actions for nutrition security and towards the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Study two was an analysis of corporate documents from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)- authorized food retailers with the highest number of physical locations nationwide (n=48) to identify the corporate commitments to environmental sustainability. Thirty-one corporate SNAP-authorized food retailers had a range of commitments to environmental sustainability and there are many opportunities for future research, public health partnerships, and policy action to expand environmental sustainability promotion within these retail settings. Study three explored the perceptions of 12 independent food retailers in Virginia about their role in planetary health promotion and found that retailers were interested in planetary health promotion if the practices aligned with profit potential and customer expectations. Overall findings are that food retailers in the U.S. could operate for planetary health promotion if doing so supports profit potential and customer expectations. Food retailers remain important partners for public health programming and recommendations to expand existing healthy food retail research, practice, and policy to include planetary health promotion are provided."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Role of Food Retailers for Integration of Nutrition Security and Planetary Health Promotion in the United States"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Misyak, Sarah A."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Serrano, Elena L.","Gardezi, Syed Maaz Hassaan","Kraak, Vivica I.","Houghtaling, Bailey Elizabeth"],"dc:contributor.department":["Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise"],"dc:creator":["DeNunzio, Maria Nicole"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-05-14T08:03:21Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-05-14T08:03:21Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-05-13"],"dc:description.abstract":["In the United States (U.S.), nutrition security is defined as food security and diet quality across social and economic segments of the population. Achieving nutrition security for all requires a healthy planet that can withstand the shocks and stressors of ahistoric weather patterns. Healthy food retail initiatives in the U.S. promote nutrition security through policy, systems, and environmental changes, but under-emphasize planetary health promotion. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the role of food retailers in the U.S. to integrate nutrition security and planetary health promotion. Study one examined the applicability of an existing corporate food retail benchmarking tool, the Business Impact Assessment-Obesity and population level nutrition (BIA-Obesity), for monitoring food retailer actions to advance the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health recommendations for nutrition security. Existing BIA-Obesity indicators were broadly applicable for National Strategy recommendations. Additional indicators for local foods, fairness in resource distribution, food waste reduction, and digital food environments would improve applicability of the BIA-Obesity to monitor food retailer actions towards National Strategy recommendations. Study two identified corporate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-authorized food retailer public commitments to environmental sustainability and categorized commitments by domain of environmental sustainability, using relevant Sustainable Development Goals (n=9). Content analysis of commitments showed that 31 of 48 included SNAP-authorized food retailers had commitments across environmental sustainability domains. Results can inform accountability evaluations, partnerships, and policy action. Study three explored the perceptions of 12 independent food retailers in Virginia about planetary health promotion through semi-structured interviews, with questions and coding informed by the inner and outer settings of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Food retailers were willing to play a role in planetary health promotion and identified cost and customer satisfaction as key determinants of the scope of their role. Planetary health promotion practices of interest varied by store format and community context. Corporate and independent food retailers could support planetary health if support and incentive systems align planetary health promotion with profit potential and customer satisfaction. Healthy food retail researchers and practitioners can use these results to inform expanded nutrition security programming that includes planetary health promotion."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["Healthy food retail is an established set of public health programs that operate in food retail sites to promote nutrition security among all consumers. Current initiatives leverage the design and practices of food retail sites (e.g. grocery stores, food cooperatives, convenience stores, etc.) to support availability of and access to nutritious foods. However, healthy food retail does not currently emphasize the well-being of the planet, despite the need for planetary health to support nutrition security. Three studies were conducted to form a dissertation that examined the role of food retailers in the United States (U.S.) to integrate planetary health promotion and nutrition security. Study one was a commentary that posited that an existing corporate food retail benchmarking tool, the Business Impact Assessment and population-level nutrition (BIA-Obesity) could be used in an adapted format to monitor food retailer actions for nutrition security and towards the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Study two was an analysis of corporate documents from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)- authorized food retailers with the highest number of physical locations nationwide (n=48) to identify the corporate commitments to environmental sustainability. Thirty-one corporate SNAP-authorized food retailers had a range of commitments to environmental sustainability and there are many opportunities for future research, public health partnerships, and policy action to expand environmental sustainability promotion within these retail settings. Study three explored the perceptions of 12 independent food retailers in Virginia about their role in planetary health promotion and found that retailers were interested in planetary health promotion if the practices aligned with profit potential and customer expectations. Overall findings are that food retailers in the U.S. could operate for planetary health promotion if doing so supports profit potential and customer expectations. Food retailers remain important partners for public health programming and recommendations to expand existing healthy food retail research, practice, and policy to include planetary health promotion are provided."],"dc:description.degree":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:43543"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/132462"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"],"dc:subject":["Food retailers","Nutrition security","Environmental sustainability","Healthy food retail","Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program"],"dc:title":["The Role of Food Retailers for Integration of Nutrition Security and Planetary Health Promotion in the United States"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:53Z"}