Policy, Systems,
& Environments
A New Approach to Creating
Healthy Communities
Casey M. Coombs RD, CD
You can’t make positive choices for
the rest of your life without an
environment that makes those
choices easy, natural, and
enjoyable
-Deepak Chopra
SNAP-Ed Socio-Ecological Model
Environmental Factors
•Homes, schools, work,
rec facilities, food
service, retail
establishments, etc.
Sectors of Influence
•Government, health care
systems, agriculture,
marketing/media,
community design &
safety, etc.
Social & Cultural Norms
and Values
•Belief Systems, heritage,
religion, priorities,
lifestyle, body image
Individual Factors
•Awareness, knowledge,
attitudes, beliefs, values,
& preferences
1. Work WITH direct nutrition education
2. Collaboration
3. Evaluation
 Improved Nutrition
 Increased
Physical Activity
 Maintenance
of a normal
body weight
pol·i·cy
/ˈpäləsē/
noun
a course or principle of action adopted or
proposed by a government, party, business, or
individual.
synonyms: plans, strategy, stratagem,
approach, code, system, guidelines, theory;
REPRESENT
Be the voice of our target population
Policy Examples:
• School policy regulating items sold at bake sale.
• Early childcare policy limiting screen time during the
day.
• Senior living facility policy to increase whole grains
served in dining hall.
sys·tem
/ˈsistəm/ noun
a set of connected things or parts forming a complex
whole
synonyms: structure, organization,
arrangement, complex, network; informal
setup
System change: An organization adopting a new
intervention, reallocating resources, or reaching a
new population.
EDUCATE
Individualize the system change
System Examples:
• Afterschool program evaluates if participants would
prefer granola bars or yogurt parfaits as part of their
new healthy snack initiative.
• Senior living facilities nutrition director accesses
farm-to-fork program and includes local produce in
menu.
• Local Cooperative Extension office replaces energy
dense foods with nutrient dense options in break
room vending machine.
en·vi·ron·ment
/inˈvīrənmənt/ noun
the surroundings or conditions in which a
person, animal, or plant lives or operates.
synonyms: habitat, territory, domain
PROMOTE
Increase awareness of environmental changes
Environment Examples:
• Signage at point of purchase, point of decision
making
• School garden used for increased physical activity
opportunities
• Financial incentives to encourage a behavior
• Nutrition information in hospital cafeterias for staff
workers
Resources:
• SNAP-Ed Grant Program with PSE implementation:
http://snap.nal.usda.gov/snap/Guidance/FinalFY20
15SNAP-EdGuidance.pdf
• SNAP-Ed Toolkit using PSEs:
http://snap.nal.usda.gov/snap/SNAPEdInterventionsToolkit.pdf
• Understanding PSE to improve community health:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/healthreform/ship/te
chassistance/pse02222012.pdf