Dr. Hanson’s research primarily focuses on food security, food access, and dietary quality in the U.S., with a particular emphasis on public policies affecting low-income families with children. She uses both quantitative and qualitative research methods to explore food security and access to healthy food through farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture, home and community gardening, civic engagement, and systems of mutual aid.

With funding from the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Hanson and colleagues at Texas A&M AgriLife Research are evaluating the effectiveness of a civic engagement intervention for healthy living in 12 rural towns in New York and Texas. The Change Club (CC) intervention provides small groups of community residents with nutrition and physical activity lessons and a stepwise process in which CC members try to change the built environment of their community relative to food (for example, foods in restaurants or schools) or physical activity opportunities (for example, parks or walking trails). Our on-going cluster randomized controlled trial will assess changes in eating and physical activity behaviors and health outcomes among CC members, their friends and family, and other community residents.

With funding from USDA, Dr. Hanson and colleagues are identifying and testing small changes to the operations of community supported agriculture (CSA) programs that may promote participation among low-income households, who otherwise seldom participate due to a lack of familiarity and other barriers. A 4-week “Try-It” CSA is being offered at half-price to low-income households in two cities in upstate New York. Student researchers are collecting weekly data on CSA share pick-up; selection, consumption, and waste of the fruit and vegetables; and continuation in the CSA after the trial period.

Operating under the principle of “neighbors supporting neighbors to meet survival needs,” Mutual Aid Tompkins (MAT) food sharing cabinets are located outdoors throughout the county where residents who have food can share it and residents who need food can obtain it. Undergraduate and MPH students, alongside Dr. Hanson, were active members of MAT food sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and also used a variety of methods to understand how food sharing was implemented, and document outcomes such as food availability, acceptability, accessibility, and perceived impact on food access.

With funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and partnerships with cooperative extension and 12 farms, Dr. Hanson and collaborators recently completed The Farm Fresh Foods for Healthy Kids (F3HK) intervention trial. F3HK provided a half-price CSA coupled with tailored nutrition education and cooking tools to low-income families with children in rural and micropolitan communities in four states. This randomized controlled trial found that participation in F3HK for just one summer improved fruit and vegetable intake among caregivers by 1 cup and increased household food security by 13 percentage points. 

• PhD, Public Administration. Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University, New York, NY.  
• BA, Economics and Sociology.  Union College, Schenectady, NY

Dr. Hanson is Professor of Practice in the Department of Public & Ecosystem Health, and a member of the Graduate Fields of Nutrition and Public Health and Planetary Health. From 2005-2019, she was a Researcher and Senior Lecturer in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell. Prior to coming to Cornell, Dr. Hanson held faculty appointments in the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University and the Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy at The New School in New York City. Dr. Hanson also has experience working at a federally qualified primary care health center.

*Student or mentee I trained; ^Community partner

1. Hanson KL, Marshall GA, Graham ML, Villarreal DL, Volpe LC, Seguin-Fowler RA. Identifying and Removing Fraudulent Attempts to Enroll in a Human Health Improvement Intervention Trial in Rural Communities. Methods and Protocols. 2024; 7(93). DOI: 10.3390/mps7060093

2. Hanson KL, Coupal S*, Grace E*, Jesch E^, Lockhart S*, Volpe LC. Mutual aid food sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic: Case study of Tompkins County, NY. Public Health Nutrition. 2024; 27(e215):1-11. DOI: 10.1017/S1368980024001083

3. Hanson KL, Concepcion C*, Volpe LC. Factors associated with participation in community supported agriculture (CSA) among low-income households: A scoping review. Nutrients. 2024; 16,2450. DOI: 10.3390/nu16152450 

4. Coffin-Schmitt JL, Clements N, Marshall G, Liu L*, Trombitas A, Wang Z, Yuan S, Greiner Safi A, Hanson KL, Fiorella KJ. Wild and Backyard Food Use in Upstate New York, USA during COVID-19. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2023; 10. DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1222610

5. Garner JA, Hanson KL, Ammerman AS, Jilcott Pitts SB, Kolodinsky J, Sitaker M, Kenkel D, Seguin-Fowler RA. Cost Analysis and Cost Effectiveness of a Subsidized Community Supported Agriculture Intervention for Low-income Families. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2023;20(1):84. DOI: 10.1186/s12966-023-01481-7

6. Seguin‑Fowler RA, Hanson KL, Villarreal D, Rethorst CD, Ayine P, Folta SC, Maddock JE, Patterson MS, Marshall GA, Volpe LC, Eldridge GD, Kershaw M, Luong V, Wang H, Kenkel D. Evaluation of a civic engagement approach to catalyze built environment change and promote healthy eating and physical activity among rural residents: a cluster (community) randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health. 2022;22:1674. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-13653-4.

7. Hanson KL, Xu L*, Marshall GA, Sitaker M, Jilcott Pitts SB, Kolodinsky J, Bennett A^, Carriker S^, Smith D^, Ammerman A, Seguin-Fowler RA. Participation in Cost-offset Community Supported Agriculture by Low-income Households in the U.S. is Associated with Community Characteristics and Operational Practices. Public Health Nutrition. 2022;25(8):2277-2287. DOI:10.1017/S1368980022000908.

8. Hanson KL, Meng X*, Volpe LC, Jilcott Pitts S, Bravo Y^, Tiffany J^, Seguin-Fowler RA. Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program Educational Events are Broadly Popular and May Increase Participant Knowledge, Self-efficacy, and Behavioral Intentions. Nutrients. 2022;14(3):436. DOI: 10.3390/nu14030436.

9. Linville T*, Hanson KL, Sobal J. Hunting and Raising Livestock Are Associated with Meat-related Attitudes, Norms, and Frequent Consumption: Implications for Dietary Guidance to Rural Residents. British Food Journal. 2021;124(10):3067-3082. DOI: 10.1108/BFJ-01-2021-0096.

10. Seguin-Fowler RA, Hanson KL, Jilcott Pitts SB, Kolodinsky J, Sitaker M, Ammerman A, Marshall GA, Belarmino EH, Garner JA, Wang W. Community Supported Agriculture plus Nutrition Education Improves Skills, Self-efficacy, and Eating Behaviors among Low-Income Caregivers but not their Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2021 DOI: 10.1186/s12966-021-01168-x.

11. Seguin-Fowler RA, Hanson KL, Marshall GA, Belarmino EH, Jilcott Pitts SB, Kolodinsky J, Sitaker M, Ammerman A. Fruit and vegetable intake assessed by repeat 24-hr recalls, but not by a dietary screener, is associated with skin carotenoid measurements in children. Nutrients. 2021. DOI: 10.3390/nu13030980.

12. Garner JA, Jilcott Pitts SB, Hanson KL, Ammerman A, Kolodinsky J, Sitaker M, Seguin-Fowler RA. Making community-supported agriculture accessible to low-income families: findings from the Farm Fresh Foods for Healthy Kids process evaluation. Translational Behavioral Medicine. 2020. DOI: 10.1093/tbm/ibaa080

13. Lu I*, Hanson KL, Jilcott Pitts SB, Kolodinsky J, Ammerman A, Sitaker M, Wang W, Volpe LC, Belarmino EH, Garner J, Gonsalves L, Seguin RA. Perceptions of nutrition education classes offered in conjunction with a community-supported agriculture intervention among low-income families. Public Health Nutrition. 2020. DOI: 10.1017/S1368980020002773

14. Galie K*, Hanson KL. Food Preferences and Price, but Not Value, Were Associated with Sales in a Discounted Food Buying Program. Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition. 2020, 16:387-405. DOI: 10.1080/19320248.2020.1721390.

15. Hanson KL, Volpe LC, Kolodinsky J, Hwang G*, Wang W, Jilcott Pitts SB, Sitaker M, Ammerman AS, Seguin RA. Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs and Behaviors regarding Fruits and Vegetables among Cost-offset Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Applicants, Purchasers, and a Comparison Sample. Nutrients. 2019, 11:1320. DOI: 10.3390/nu11061320.
16. Hanson KL, Garner J, Connor LM, Jilcott Pitts JB, McGuirt J, Harris R*, Kolodinsky J, Wang W, Sitaker M, Ammerman A, Seguin RA. Fruit and Vegetable Preferences and Practices may Hinder Participation in Community Supported Agriculture among Low-income Rural Families. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2019, 51:57-67.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jneb.2018.08.006.
17. Hanson KL, Kolodinsky J, Wang W, Morgan EH, Jilcott Pitts SB, Ammerman AS, Sitaker M, Seguin RA. Adults and children in low-income households that participate in cost-offset community supported agriculture have high fruit and vegetable consumption. Nutrients. 2017; 9(7):726. DOI: 10.3390/nu9070726
18. Seguin RA, Morgan EH, Hanson KL, Ammerman AS, Jilcott Pitts SB, Kolodinsky J, Sitaker M, Becot F, Connor LM, Garner JA, and McGuirt JT. Study Protocol -- Farm Fresh Foods for Healthy Kids (F3HK): An innovative community supported agriculture intervention to prevent childhood obesity in low-income families and strengthen local agricultural economies. BMC Public Health. 2017; 17:306. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-017-4202-2
19. Hanson KL, Connor LM, Olson, CM and Mills G. Household Instability and Unpredictable Earnings Hinder Coping in Households with Food Insecure Children. Journal of Poverty. 2016; 20(4): 464-483. DOI: 10.1080/10875549.2016.1141382
20. Hanson KL and Connor LM. Food Insecurity and Dietary Quality among US Adults and Children: a systematic review. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2014; 100(2):684-692. DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.114.084525

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