Melissa Pflugh Prescott is a behavioral nutritionist and her research examines behavioral design strategies to improve U.S. nutrition security and environmental sustainability, particularly among children and their families. Dr. Prescott has more than 15 years of experience collaborating with community partners; her past experiences include managing a school-based obesity prevention program across seven elementary schools located in Harlem and Washington Heights, NYC and serving as a nutrition consultant to many public health organizations, including the NYC Coalition for the Homeless and United Way of NYC. Dr. Prescott is an active member of multiple professional societies. Her current and past leadership roles include serving on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior and appointed as Chair of the Council on Future Practice for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Research Information
Research Projects
Current Federally Funded Research Projects
- Nourish: A culinary and food resource management intervention to improve diet quality and reduce food waste among SNAP-eligible adults. Funded by the National Science Foundation.
- MealSim: An agent-based model simulating child selection, consumption, and waste behaviors to promote increased fruit and vegetable consumption during school lunch. Funded by the US Department of Agriculture, National Institute for Food and Agriculture Research
- Multistate Share Table Pilot: Advancing food recovery in K-12 school cafeterias by removing food safety and operational barriers of share tables. Funded by the US Department of Agriculture, National Institute for Food and Agriculture Research
Awards and Honors
Publications
Selected Publications
Gibson S, Metcalfe J.J, McCaffrey J, Allison T, Prescott MP. Nutrition environment at food pantries improves after fresh produce donation program. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2022;54(5), 432-441.
Metcalfe JJ., McCaffrey J., Schumacher M., Kownacki C., & Prescott MP. Community-based nutrition Education and Hands-On Cooking Intervention Increases Farmers’ Market Use and Vegetable Servings. Public Health Nutrition. 2022; 1-30.
Ellison B and Prescott MP. Examining nutrition and food waste trade-offs using an obesity prevention context. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2021, 53 (5), 434-444.
Burg X, Metcalfe JJ, Ellison B, Prescott MP. Effects of Longer Seated Lunch Time on Food Consumption and Waste in Elementary and Middle School–age Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open. 2021;4(6):e2114148. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.14148
Prescott MP, Burg X, Metcalfe JJ, Lipka EA, Herritt C, Cunningham-Sabo L. Healthy Planet, Healthy Youth: A Food Systems Education and Promotion Intervention to Improve Adolescent Diet Quality and Reduce Food Waste. Nutrients. 2019;11(8).