By The Food and Nutrition program at Meredith helps you develop a deep understanding of the nutritional components of a healthy lifestyle. You’ll learn how to promote the optimal health and well-being of individuals, populations, and communities through education, research, and service.
Food and Nutrition is an exciting field of study that can be applied to a variety of professions. Students who earn a Bachelor’s degree in this program can go on to pursue careers in healthcare, community health programs, the culinary and food industry, government and non-profit organizations, and academia.
Our undergraduate and graduate program provides students with a foundation in the principles of nutrition and food science, as well as in the social, cultural, and political contexts in which food is consumed. We encourage our students to become critical thinkers, with an interdisciplinary approach to learning that allows them to explore a wide range of issues related to human nutrition and wellness.
We strive to educate our students, as well as the public, about the role of food and nutrition in all aspects of life. Our innovative curriculum, in partnership with the School of Medicine, incorporates teaching and learning about the food supply, food security, human consumption patterns, culture and identity, nutrient intake, and health and disease state.
A thriving, sustainable, and equitable food system is an essential component of a sustainable, equitable society. This requires an understanding of the relationships between food production and distribution, and between local, regional, and national agriculture and food security. The Department of Food Studies and the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics work together to provide an integrated academic experience that addresses these topics.
The Division of Food and Nutrition seeks to ensure that all residents in Jersey City have access to healthy food. To support this mission, the program is involved in the development click here of a range of strategies to address hunger and malnutrition throughout the city.
These strategies include:
SNAP-Ed Youth: This program is designed to teach children how to use their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products and beans at supermarkets. The program is aimed at empowering young people to choose the foods they want, and encouraging them to be physically active.
Half Off Farm Box: This program enables participants of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to receive free, locally grown produce from participating farmers’ markets. This is an opportunity to increase the number of fruits and vegetables consumed by New Yorkers, which in turn increases overall health.
Community-based programs: Through the Office of Community Food Systems, the Department works with many community organizations and agencies to help people access healthy food. These agencies include schools, community-based organizations, local food banks, homeless shelters and other social service programs.
Our community partners also assist in promoting local, regional, and organic food sources. The department participates in a variety of initiatives to promote the purchase and consumption of these foods including the USDA Farm to School Grant Program, which supports the development of school meals that are made from locally produced and sourced food.
