About

The Food Policy Research Program operates at the forefront of the food and beverage policy landscape, providing timely formative research and policy evaluation to help build an evidence base that supports the development of policies, programs, and guidelines for improving nutrition and population health.

Our team has expertise in nutrition, economics, public health, public policy, anthropology, and law, and we collaborate with expert researchers across the U.S. to enhance our food policy research agenda.

The Food Policy Research Program Over Time

Based at the University of Illinois Chicago’s (UIC) Policy, Practice and Prevention Research Center within the School of Public Health, the Food Policy Research Team receives funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Food Policy Program.

2017-2020

Evaluation of Local-Level Sweetened Beverage Taxation in the U.S.

This multi-study project evaluated sweetened beverage taxes in jurisdictions across the US, including Oakland, CA; Seattle, WA; Cook County, IL; Philadelphia, PA; and San Francisco, CA.  Our team used pre-post intervention-comparison site evaluation study designs and qualitative methods to study tax pass-through, demand, substitution, cross-border shopping, revenue, sales, marketing, and implementation.

2020 – 2025

U.S. Food Policy Research Evaluation

As part of our recent Food Policy Research program, we undertook research projects that examined environmental and behavioral changes following the adoption and implementation of nutrition policies at local, state, and federal levels, and assessed barriers and facilitators to policy implementation. We also provided evidence on the extent of exposures to harms, such as unhealthy food marketing, to inform the need for policy development. The focus of this research was on the following key priority areas:

  • Changes (e.g., incentives for healthy foods) to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP)
  • Warning labels and advertising restrictions on unhealthy foods and beverages
  • Changes to retail food marketing (including product, placement, promotion, and pricing)
  • Improvements to food and beverage offerings in restaurants, schools, and universities
  • Improvements to nutrition standards in schools
2025 – Present

Food Policy Research Program

The current Food Policy Research Program is focused on formative research and policy evaluation that supports the development and implementation of effective policies, programs, and guidelines in the following key policy priority areas:

  • Taxes and Subsidies
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
  • Labeling
  • Marketing
  • Procurement

Research Methods

The UIC Food Policy Research team and colleagues evaluate the impact of policies by collecting and analyzing data on key policy outcomes across the food landscape. We collect these data before and after policy implementation, and also compare areas with and without policies. In addition, we conduct formative research using existing and newly collected data to identify policy needs and inform effective policy development. Data sources include:

Shoppers and consumers

  • Nutrition intake
  • Dietary recalls
  • Food and beverage purchase receipts
  • Food frequency questionnaires
  • Household and store scanner data

Products and labels

  • Nutrition information
  • Product claims on nutrition
  • Warning labels

Restaurants and food stores

  • Product placement
  • Product prices
  • Sales and promotions

Policy makers

  • Policy legislation
  • Implementation barriers and facilitators

Collaboration for Optimal Expertise and Impact

Our work encompasses both independent and collaborative formative research and policy evaluations, the provision of technical assistance, and funding to support collaborators and external evaluation teams. 

The Food Policy Research program is supporting and building a network of emerging and expert food policy researchers. This broad network helps us align the field’s scientists with the optimal combination of expertise for each project. Through an annual meeting, we bring researchers and policy experts together from across the country and the world to share findings and critical insights in the field.

Funding Opportunities

We strive to meet the needs of the evolving policy landscape by providing flexible and responsive funding opportunities. We release competitive Requests for Proposals (RFP) on a rolling basis to fund research projects that inform or evaluate policies. We provide time-sensitive funding opportunities for urgent policy development or evaluation needs. Read more about our Research Opportunities.