Centre of Research Excellence in Food Retail Environments for Health: Next Generation (RE-FRESH: Next Generation)

Determinants of Health, Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition

Creating the research evidence to help healthy food retail become the ‘new norm’ for food retailers such as supermarkets, convenience stores, cafes and kiosks, remote stores and all other places where people buy their food and drinks.

This centre is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (2024-2029) and builds upon research conducted by the NHMRC-funded Centre of Research Excellence in Food Retail Environments for Health (RE-FRESH, 2018-2023) – the first centre globally dedicated to the advancement of healthy food retail research and practice.

Challenge

To create healthier retail food environments to improve our population’s diet and health.

Solution

Create healthier retail food environments via: research to support government policy; accountability mechanisms; and support for retailers to scale-up and sustain initiatives.

Impact

We aim to demonstrate to food retailers that making changes to the food retail environment can be feasible and align with their goals. We’re working to ensure that retailers and governments are accountable for their policies and practices. Our work supports food retailers to implement, scale-up and sustain effective healthy food retail initiatives, and provides those involved in the creation, implementation and evaluation of retail-focused food policy with the information they need to make evidence-informed decisions. Our knowledge translation strategies ensure that all those with an interest in healthy food retail have access to the tools and resources needed for change-making in real-world settings. We are training the next generation of leaders in healthy food retail research.

Partners

Deakin University

The George Institute for Global Health

The University of Queensland

Monash University

University of Auckland

University of New South Wales

Amsterdam UMC

The University of Western Australia

The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre

Collaboration for Enhanced Research Impact (CERI)

Food for Health Alliance

RE-FRESH: Next Generation (The Centre of Research Excellence in Food Retail Environments for Health: Next Generation) is working to improve diet and health at a population level by developing and translating the evidence needed to improve the retail food environments where people buy their food and drinks.

RE-FRESH: Next Generation is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (2024-2029) and builds upon research conducted by the NHMRC-funded Centre of Research Excellence in Food Retail Environments for Health (RE-FRESH, 2018-2023) – the first global centre dedicated to the advancement of healthy food retail research and practice.

Our research team members are based in Australia and internationally, and include experts in nutrition, food retail, health economics, public health, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, health policy, epidemiology, health law, biostatistics, equity, co-creation, implementation science and knowledge translation.

Institutions represented in RE-FRESH: Next Generation include Deakin University, The George Institute for Global Health, The University of Queensland, Monash University, The University of Auckland (New Zealand), Amsterdam UMC (Netherlands), The University of Western Australia, the University of New South Wales (Sydney), Food for Health Alliance (formerly the Obesity Policy Coalition) and The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre.

Our research includes partnerships with government and non-government organisations, community organisations and food retailers in Australia and overseas.

 

“In the RE-FRESH: Next Generation Centre of Research Excellence, we have a committed and talented group of researchers who are creating the research evidence that is helping to change the retail food environment so that it promotes healthy eating at a population scale.”

-Professor Adrian Cameron, Director, RE-FRESH: Next Generation

 

Contact us: re-fresh@deakin.edu.au