What Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition does

CNHI (Center for Nutrition & Health Impact, formerly Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition) is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit research institute founded in 1970 and legally incorporated in Omaha, Nebraska, operating as a fully distributed all-remote organization with approximately 70 scientists and professionals located across more than 30 U.S. states. The organization rebranded from Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition to Center for Nutrition & Health Impact in May 2024 to formally reflect the broader health-impact scope of its work over the prior 15 years and signal its forward direction.

The organization's core offering is independent, third-party program evaluation and capacity-building services delivered through mixed-methods research — including process and outcome evaluation, survey design and cognitive testing, measures development, multi-level statistical analysis, and technical assistance — to foundations, federal and state government agencies (notably USDA and WIC state agencies), healthcare systems, food banks, and community-based organizations. Its product portfolio includes the USDA-selected GusNIP Nutrition Incentive Program Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information (NTAE) Center (supporting over 100 produce prescription grantees); proprietary food and nutrition security measurement instruments (Household Resilience, Nutrition Security, Dietary Choice, and three-pillar food security measures) developed under Walmart Foundation funding; a Food is Medicine evaluation practice; the Rooted in Evidence Food Bank Grant and Evaluation Program; the WICShop+ online-shopping participant resource; and the WIC Online Shopping Implementation Support Initiative.

CNHI generates revenue almost entirely through grant-funded partnerships and contracted research engagements — there is no commercial pricing model. Major funders include USDA, the Walmart Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, the Humana Foundation, the Builders Initiative, and the CHN Nebraska Foundation, among others. The go-to-market motion combines direct enterprise-style engagement with foundations and federal agencies, event-driven thought leadership at nutrition and public health conferences, and community-led content marketing via publications, a quarterly newsletter, media relations, and webinars. Deliverables take the form of technical reports, manuscripts, presentations, and capacity-building resources tailored to audience rather than commercial product offerings.

Name

Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition

Legal name

Center for Nutrition & Health Impact

Website

https://centerfornutrition.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, now Center for Nutrition & Health Impact (CNHI), is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit research institute that provides program evaluation, measures development, and technical assistance to foundations, federal and state agencies, healthcare systems, and food banks across the U.S. nutrition and public health space.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Nutrition Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical Nutrition Therapy (Registered Dietitian) (HSADAFAE)

Keywords

• Nutrition program evaluation
• Food security research
• Public health evaluation
• Research technical assistance
• Nonprofit research institute

Headquarters

HQ city

Omaha

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Primary funding from federal agencies (USDA), foundations (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Walmart Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, etc.) through competitive grant programs for research and evaluation projects.
2. Contract Research Services: Contracted evaluation and technical assistance services provided to healthcare organizations, food banks, state agencies, and nonprofit partners.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CNHI is an independent nonprofit research institute that conducts rigorous measurement and evaluation of nutrition-related public health programs for foundations, federal and state government agencies, healthcare organizations, food banks, and academic institutions. It delivers evaluation services, capacity building, and technical assistance, and operates the USDA-selected GusNIP NTAE Center providing national evaluation and technical support to produce prescription and nutrition incentive programs.

Product overview

The Center for Nutrition & Health Impact (CNHI) is an independent nonprofit research institute offering evaluation and capacity building services rather than a traditional product company. Its portfolio consists of evaluation services (program evaluation, measures development, data analysis), the GusNIP NTAE Center providing national evaluation for produce prescription programs, WICShop+ for WIC online shopping support, Food and Nutrition Security Measures tools for assessing household food insecurity, and Food is Medicine evaluation services. Additional offerings include the Rooted in Evidence grant program for food banks, plus project-specific evaluations for initiatives including NJFSI, WSPI, WIC studies, ECELC, and the Australia-US food insecurity comparison project.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Evaluation Services Process and outcome program evaluation including mixed-methods approaches, evaluation planning, formative assessment, measures development and data collection, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and deliverables including technical reports, manuscripts, and presentations for public health nutrition programs.
• Capacity Building Services Grantmaker and grantee support for foundations including RFP development, grantee readiness assessment, shared measures development, program evaluation, and scientific strategic planning for organizations working in public health nutrition.
• GusNIP NTAE Center National evaluation and technical assistance center for the USDA Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) nutrition incentive and produce prescription programs, providing evaluation and technical support to over 100 produce prescription grantees.
• WICShop+ Website supporting WIC participants with online shopping resources and information, helping WIC State agencies implement online shopping solutions and improve healthy food access.
• Food and Nutrition Security Related Measures Measures developed with Walmart Foundation funding to assess household resilience, nutrition security, dietary choice, and three pillars of food security (availability, utilization, stability) complementary to USDA HFSSM. Includes low-burden, self-administered modules providing a more holistic assessment of the food insecurity experience.
• Food is Medicine (FIM) Evaluation Evaluation and technical assistance support for Food is Medicine programs including produce prescriptions and medically tailored meals, working with partners like American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, Feeding America, Community Servings, and Humana Foundation.
• Rooted in Evidence Food Bank Grant and Evaluation Program established in 2019 that funds eligible food banks working to support innovative programming to improve health and dietary quality of emergency food recipients. Provides $25,000 grants plus evaluation support.
• NJFSI Evaluation Evaluation of the New Jersey Food Security Initiative (NJFSI), a three-year cross-sector collaborative effort to increase food security and good nutrition in New Jersey, led by Food Research & Action Center with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funding.
• WSPI Evaluation Overarching evaluation of the WIC Special Project Innovation (WSPI) Grant program, which funded projects led by WIC agencies to improve customer service in WIC clinics and enhance the WIC certification process.
• WIC Online Shopping Implementation Support Initiative Initiative providing funding and technical assistance to WIC State agencies to implement WIC online shopping solutions, expanding WIC benefit utilization and improving healthy food access.
• WIC Fruit and Vegetable Study Study evaluating how policy changes in WIC cash value benefit (CVB) during the pandemic impacted WIC program and child access to fruits and vegetables, funded by Healthy Eating Research/RWJF.
• ECELC Evaluation Six-year evaluation of the National Early Care and Education Learning Collaboratives (ECELC) project, measuring impact on ECE programs' healthy eating and active living policies and practices.
• Australia Food Insecurity Project Cross-country collaboration with Deakin University comparing food insecurity experiences among parents of young children and pregnant women in US and Australia, funded by Charley Eisele Family Foundation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% of PPR participants report satisfaction with produce prescription programs
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected by USDA to lead the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) Nutrition Incentive Program Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information (NTAE) Center, providing evaluation and technical support to produce prescription projects nationwide.
• American Heart AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Health Care by Food initiative evaluating produce prescription programs. CNHI provides evaluation expertise for AHA's FIM programming research.
• American Diabetes AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Pathway for Produce Prescriptions in Diabetes Management (PPPT2D) project evaluating impact of GusNIP produce prescription projects on participants with type 2 diabetes.
• Share Our StrengthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Food is Medicine landscape analysis for pregnant women, documenting the evolving landscape of FIM programs funded by No Kid Hungry Campaign.
• Feeding AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeads nationwide evaluation of Food As Medicine 3.0 (FAM3) initiative with 21 food bank grantees and over 30 healthcare partners deploying participant-centered FIM interventions.
• Community ServingsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEvaluation partner on FIM project led by Community Servings documenting impact of local food sourcing practices from farms and fisheries.
• Mama's KitchenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted mixed methods evaluation of pilot program shipping medically tailored meals to areas outside traditional service model.
• Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed by FRAC, NJFSI is a three-year cross-sector collaborative effort to increase food security in New Jersey with CNHI leading evaluation.
• University of KentuckycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood as Health Alliance partnership for user-centered FIM screening and referral research, including stepped-care model with nutrition and mental health counseling.
• Nemours Children's Health SystemcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSix-year evaluation partnership for National Early Care and Education Learning Collaboratives (ECELC) project improving nutrition and physical activity in ECE programs.
• Children's NebraskaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Impact Grant Program evaluation supporting 10 Nebraska community-based organizations enhancing food security and pediatric wellness.
• Special OlympicsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to inform active transportation for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Deakin University (Australia)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition comparing food insecurity experiences between U.S. and Australia.
• American Cancer SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Action Guide for Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalitions promoting nutrition and physical activity PSE approaches.
• ProMedicaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUsing CNHI-developed food security measures in ProMedica's food clinic screening and referral processes for patients experiencing food insecurity.
• Alliance of Massachusetts YMCAsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember YMCAs using CNHI's food security measures for needs assessment surveys to inform support approaches.
• Council of State Governments (CSG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSG awarded WIC Special Project Innovation Grant with CNHI serving as evaluation lead for grant supporting WIC clinic improvements.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• John Snow, Inc. (JSI): Public health consulting and research organization with extensive federal contract experience in food security, nutrition, and community health programming; directly comparable in mission and delivery model.
• American Institutes for Research (AIR): Large nonprofit behavioral and social science research organization with health, education, and social programs evaluation practices; comparable scale and contract vehicle footprint.
• RTI International: Nonprofit research institute with significant food and nutrition, public health, and federal program evaluation practices; competes for USDA and foundation contracts in adjacent service lines.
• Westat: Employee-owned research firm with strong federal evaluation practice including nutrition assistance (WIC, SNAP) and public health program evaluation; comparable in scale and contract mix.
• NORC at the University of Chicago: Independent research organization with established public health, health care, and food assistance evaluation practices; comparable in offering independent third-party evaluation to federal agencies and foundations.
• Mathematica: Policy research and evaluation firm with deep practice areas in health, nutrition, food assistance, and federal program evaluation; directly comparable for foundation and federal evaluation contracts.
• Health Resources in Action: Nonprofit public health organization providing program evaluation, capacity building, and research services to foundations and government agencies in nutrition and chronic disease; closely aligned in offerings and customer base.
• Abt Associates: Research and consulting firm with longstanding federal evaluation work in food security, nutrition assistance programs, and public health; directly competes for similar contracts.

Emerging players

• Insight Policy Research: Small woman-owned research firm with health and nutrition evaluation practices; comparable in size and niche public health nutrition evaluation focus.
• Food Research & Action Center (FRAC): Nonprofit research and advocacy organization focused on hunger, nutrition, and food security policy; partner on NJFSI evaluation but adjacent as a research and policy counterpart.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GretchenSwanson
• Facebookfacebook.com/CenterforNutrition

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition