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The federally funded (SNAP) is a lifeline 鈥攅nabling access to nutrition education, fresh food and, ultimately, for some of the state鈥檚 most vulnerable communities. Despite these benefits, 鈥攁 vexing issue for organizations implementing the program and its overall public health effectiveness. Part of the challenge, identified by (NHAES) scientist , is the need for community educators and program administrators to tailor their efforts in ways that align with the values and needs of specific communities, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach. Bigornia鈥檚 research is investigating what that tailoring may entail.

"My first project with the NH Agricultural Station provided evidence that the current curriculum used by may not be effective at improving dietary quality and chronic disease risk among Bhutanese refugee adults 鈥撎齛 specific Granite State population,鈥� said Bigornia, an assistant professor in the agriculture, nutrition, and food systems department at the . The SNAP-Ed curriculum, though translated to Nepali, was not otherwise tailored to the Bhutanese refugee community.

鈥淲e learned that participants in our study were meeting recommendations for vegetables, added sugars, and saturated fat, but not for whole grains and fruits,鈥� he added. In additional analyses, Bigornia and his colleagues found that those who reported more fruit and whole grain consumption had better inflammatory and lipid profiles, respectively.

鈥淭o me, this suggests that cultural tailoring may improve the impact of SNAP-Ed on the health of Bhutanese refugee adults by emphasizing fruits and the balance of whole and refined grain consumption, while paying less attention to dietary recommendations that they are already meeting,鈥� Bigornia said.

The broader implication of the research was that tailored nutritional plans considerate of peoples鈥� experiences and histories may help reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, he added.

Bigornia鈥檚 current NHAES research, conducted in collaboration with other Station scientists and outreach support from UNH Cooperative Extension state specialists, focuses on understanding what changes are needed to help promote the greater consumption of both seafood and dairy among New Hampshire adults.听 By identifying some of the barriers that Granite Staters have to accessing local seafood and dairy products, this work could achieve the dual benefit of reducing the risk of age- and lifestyle-related health conditions for those New Hampshire residents that increase their seafood and dairy intakes, and increasing demand for local products from the state鈥檚 commercial dairy and seafood sectors, which provide an estimated and , respectively, in annual economic output.

, which focuses on developing a culturally tailored online nutrition education program to increase fish consumption among low-income Latino adults in the Granite State鈥攁 program based on the evidence of the potential health benefits, particularly for brain health, of consuming fish. and his colleagues has shown that Latino adults who reported consuming more omega-3 fatty acids鈥攏utrients that have high concentrations in fish鈥攖ended to have better and over time.

鈥淭his research is still in the early stages however, it will ultimately inform the tailoring of dietary and health messaging targeting greater seafood and dairy consumption among Granite Staters,鈥� said Bigornia.

Why Consuming Seafood Is Good for SNAP-Ed...and for Business

鈥淯ltimately, this research will provide key insight to harvesters, producers and consumers about the importance of not only eating seafood, but also for providing a greater variety of species鈥攁nd at different price points鈥攖o New Hampshire and New England consumers.鈥� ~ , associate state specialist, UNH Cooperative Extension and NH Sea Grant

While much of SNAP-Ed programming concentrates on fruit and vegetable consumption, , according to Bigornia, adding that both conditions are disproportionately experienced by Latino adults in the U.S. Furthermore, national data indicates that Latino adults consume less than half the .

鈥淪o, supporting fish consumption in particular among Granite Staters鈥攅specially those from Latin American countries鈥攎ay improve overall health outcomes,鈥� he added. 鈥淢oreover, the New England region has experienced the slowest growth in seafood sales between 2016 and 2021, at 26 percent, whereas the national average was 41 percent for the same period.鈥�

In New Hampshire, there are several factors contributing to the slow growth of seafood sales, with one of the biggest components being , explained Gabriela Bradt, an associate state specialist with UNH Extension and .

Another component is that American consumers are notoriously picky seafood eaters, often limiting themselves to five species, Bradt added. Lobster鈥攁 New England staple and the largest fishery in Maine and New Hampshire鈥攄oesn鈥檛 even make the top ten species consumed by Americans. The research led by Bigornia could lead to not only more effective ways to educate New Hampshire鈥檚 SNAP recipients to consume seafood products that benefit their health and well-being, but to also empower those same consumers to seek seafood that is locally sourced from New Hampshire and New England producers鈥攔ather than only the top five species鈥攖hus growing the state鈥檚 and region鈥檚 seafood industries.

鈥淯ltimately, this research will provide key insight to harvesters, producers and consumers about the importance of not only eating seafood, but also for providing a greater variety of species鈥攁nd at different price points鈥攖o New Hampshire and New England consumers,鈥� said Bradt, who will help distribute the findings of this research once complete.

Bigornia's work is supported by the through joint funding from the (under Hatch award number 1020097) and the state of New Hampshire, and by a grant from听. You can learn more Bigornia鈥檚 research on his .