By: Madison Jones
I was honored with the ability to attend the APHA conference for the second time in a row. This year’s theme was “Making the Public’s Health a National Priority,” and what better place to convene than our nation’s capital. In my second year attending the APHA conference, compared to last year, there was a concrete sense of the work that needs to be done and an urgency to address as much as possible while we still have the time.
Among the sessions I attended, I found myself drawn to the Engaging Communities in Food and Nutrition: Underserved Populations session due to the unique ways in which people are working to address people’s relationship with food. I gained insight into the ways marketing targets children and families with brightly colored, low-hanging fruit, that is, in fact, a modern-day poisonous apple.
Dr. Veronica Jones utilized Photovoice to engage mothers of New Brunswick, New Jersey, raising awareness of the food environment in which they reside. Through photos and dialogue, mothers reported feeling attacked by neon lights that captivated them and their children, promising quick relief and satisfying the desire they invoke through marketing techniques. The most astonishing part of her presentation was the pictures children took, and their eye level marketing is a stark juxtaposition from what one would expect. Nonetheless, the marketing is very effective, and marketing directed towards impressionable children is so effective that it should be subject to restrictions.
As a whole, we owe it to the next generation to create an environment that promotes healthy relationships with food, but more importantly, the relationship with food that fuels your body, not the kind that tricks your brain. This poisonous apple in question affects us more than we think, and I, too, have bitten this apple more times than I would like to admit.
Madison Jones, BS, is a second-year MPH student concentrating in Maternal and Child Health. She plans to graduate in May 2026. Her interests include adolescent health, black maternal health, and nutrition behavior. She also loves shopping, exploring, and crossword puzzles.
