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Nominated, Excellence in Honors Mentoring Award from the University of Delaware, Honors Program

Ratledge Family Award. Delaware Public Service from the University of Delaware

Fulbright Scholar Award, Council for International Exchange of Scholars

American Public Health Association

National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR)

American Heart Association Policy and Advocacy Board Committee (DE)

NIH Review Panel

The Delaware IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE)

Pandemic-Era WIC Participation in Wilmington, Delaware: Participants’ Experiences and Challenges

Meeting Parents' Needs for Education and Preparation following Congenital Heart Disease Diagnosis: Recommendations from a Crowdsourced Study

The Impacts of Social Support and Relationship Characteristics on Commitment to Sobriety Among People in Opioid Use Disorder Recovery

Social support access among single caregivers with children on the autism spectrum

WIC Participants’ Perceptions of the Cash-Value Benefit Increase during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dr. Allison Karpyn is Co-Director of the University of Delaware at the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP) and Associate Professor in the Department of the Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware. Dr. Karpyn, in her 20 years of practice, has published widely in journals including Pediatrics, Preventive Medicine, and Health Affairs on program evaluation methods; topics related to hunger, obesity, school food, supermarket access, food insecurity, healthy corner stores; and, strategies to develop and maintain farmer’s markets in low-income areas. Dr. Karpyn has hands-on experience working with community-based agencies and institutions, including non-profit organizations and retailers, to implement and study-specific approaches to increase access to high-quality food in low-income communities. In 2017-2018 Dr. Karpyn served as a Fulbright Scholar to study food insecurity and hunger in the Bahamas. In addition to her position at the University of Delaware, she is a Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Public Health Initiatives. Allison earned her Bachelor’s degree in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University and her Doctorate in Policy Research Evaluation and Measurement at The University of Pennsylvania.

Farmer’s Markets

Supermarket Access

Obesity

Food Insecurity

Public Health

School Food

SNAP

English

University of Delaware Expert Profile

University of Delaware Faculty Profile

Google Scholar Citations

Examining food insecurity and nutrition in schools

A Century After the Tulsa Race Massacre, a Grocery Store Opens to Serve the Community

Dollar Stores Aren’t the Answer To Alleviating Food Insecurity, So What Is?

This Woman is On a Mission to Turn Beer into Food

Nonprofit hopes to quench Wilmington food deserts with juice stand

Journeying to the New Norm Reimaging Education, Environmental  Sustainability & Public Health In A Post Pandemic Bahamas

Outcomes from an Institution-Wide Community Engagement Framework: Comparing Perspectives Across Student, Faculty, and Community Partners

Healthy default beverages in kids’ meals: Evaluating policy implementation and impact in California and Delaware

Supporting Parenting during Infant Hospitalization: Recommendations from a Crowdsourced Study

Education and Preparation Needs of Parents Following Congenital Heart Disease Diagnosis, Cardiology

food-is-medicine-and-this-professor-has-the-research-to-prove-it

From local stores to national policy, Allison Karpyn’s work aims to ensure everyone has access to healthy, affordable food.

Associate Professor, Education; Senior Associate Director, Center for Research in Education and Social Policy

For more than 20 years, Dr. Allison Karpyn has worked to understand and address food insecurity in America and beyond — studying how communities access healthy food, how policy shapes those opportunities and how local partnerships can make meaningful change.

A professor in the University of Delaware’s College of Education and Human Development and co-director of its Center for Research in Education and Social Policy, Karpyn has published extensively on topics including food deserts, healthy corner store initiatives, school nutrition programs and strategies to bring farmer’s markets to underserved areas. Her work, which blends rigorous research with community-based implementation, has appeared in leading journals such as Pediatrics, Preventive Medicine and Health Affairs.  Karpyn has also worked directly with nonprofit organizations, government agencies and retailers to pilot and evaluate programs designed to increase access to high-quality food in low-income neighborhoods. Her focus is on actionable, data-informed solutions to persistent challenges — from childhood hunger to structural barriers in the food supply system.

Now, Karpyn’s expertise is being tapped as part of Delaware’s new Food is Medicine Committee, a statewide initiative under the Delaware Council on Farm and Food Policy. The committee seeks to connect nutrition and health care to improve outcomes, lower costs and strengthen local food systems — goals that align closely with Karpyn’s career-spanning mission.

For journalists exploring food policy, hunger, public health and the future of food access, Karpyn is a key source of insight, research and real-world perspective. She can be contacted by clicking her profile. 


Food is medicine, and this professor has the research to prove it

university-of-delaware-experts-share-insights-and-strategies-for-navigating-the-upcoming-school-year

Experts have unique perspectives on school food, diversity and disability services for the 2024-2025 school year.

Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences

Associate Professor, Education

Associate Research Professor, Education

 The College of Education and Human Development in the University of Delaware has a number of stories and experts for the upcoming school year. 

Stories  Bridging the language gap: How AWE software fosters inclusivity for English Language Learners and Non-English Language Learners alike  Creating a mindful classroom: Tips for teachers on how to have a peaceful transition into the 2024-2025 school year  Empowering Black and Latinx Boys in Their Postsecondary Journeys: The Role of School Communities  UD assistant professor Eric Layland shares new research on LGBTQ+ developmental milestones and supporting LGBTQ+ youth  University of Delaware assistant professor explores the tensions between hopes and expectations in vocational planning for autistic young adults  Experts  Allison Karpyn – an associate professor who can speak to topics related to hunger, obesity, school food, supermarket access, and food insecurity. She has spoken extensively about food in schools and can offer context to those subjects.

 Roderick Carey – an assistant professor whose current interdisciplinary research serves to make sense of the school experiences of black and Latino adolescent boys and young men in urban contexts. He can also talk about teacher education as it relates to men in the field/the impact of male teachers.

 
To contact Karpyn or Carey, click their profiles. 

More experts...  If you would like to pursue any of these stories or speak to any of the following experts, they are all willing and excited to chat. Contact mediarelations@udel.edu to speak to them. 

 Eric Layland – an assistant professor who can speak about LGBTQ+ student experiences from a research perspective. His work bridges LGBTQ+ developmental research to community impact through developmentally-informed, affirmative interventions. 





  Sarah Mallory – an assistant professor who specializes in special education with a special focus on autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. She also works within the Center for Disabilities Studies. 








  Sarah Curtiss – an assistant professor who specializes in special education with a special focus on autistic youth. 








  Brittany Zakszeski – an assistant professor and nationally certified school psychologist, licensed psychologist and behavior analyst. She focuses on student and teacher mental health and can comment on what concealed weapons carried by teachers can do for the mental wellbeing of both students and teachers. 



  Lauren Bailes – an associate professor who focuses on the ways in which organizational, social-cognitive, and leadership theory unite to promote the success of school leaders and K-12 students. 







  Bryan VanGronigen – an assistant professor who specializes in organizational resilience and change management in K-12 schools with specific interest areas in efforts to improve schools, the preparation and professional development of educational leaders and educational policy analyses.




 


  Lynsey Gibbons – an associate professor specializing in mathematics education, in teacher professional learning and school partnerships across content areas. 









Contact mediarelations@udel.edu to speak to these experts or for more information on the stories above. 
 


University of Delaware experts share insights and strategies for navigating the upcoming school year

highlighting-the-impacts-of-insufficient-wic-funding-on-lowincome-families

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of food has risen 25%, and many are struggling to provide enough nutritious food to their families. 

Federal safety net programs  – like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) for example – are intended to provide needed support for healthy foods during hard times, serving millions each year.  The WIC program, however, is not guaranteed to all that might need it. Instead it relies on budget appropriations, which for the first time in the history of the program may not be enough to cover those in need. 

There is a chance that as many as 600,000 young children, pregnant and new mothers who qualify for WIC will not be able to receive benefits in the upcoming year.

Allison Karpyn is Co-Director of the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP) and Professor in the Department of the Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware. She is able to speak holistically about WIC and other federal food programs and what this funding can accomplish. 

 "Federal Nutrition and related programs also need to address issues of stigma," Karpyn says. 

Recent frameworks developed by Dr. Karpyn and colleague suggest that more needs to be done to adequately understand and support families to use the benefits intended for them. Research is clear that food and nutrition security are closely tied to our health, she notes. 

  
    
Karpyn is able to speak about this and more. If you would like to speak to her, click her "View Profile" link. 


Highlighting the Impacts of Insufficient WIC Funding on Low-Income Families

Food Frontiers showcases six projects from around the United States that are increasing access to healthy food in varied ways – from a pioneering farm-to-school project to creative supermarket financing to cooking classes in a doctor’s office and a teen-managed grocery store.
 
This 36-minute documentary film – produced by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future – is part of the FoodSpan curriculum, which provides an overview of the food system for high school students. http://www.foodspanlearning.org

FOOD FRONTIERS

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