The PSE Readiness Assessment and Decision Instrument (PSE READI) is a web-based tool developed through over a decade of work done by the OSSEP partnership project. The PSE READI () was designed to help SNAP-Ed and public health health practitioners assess community readiness and capacity to implement and sustain nutrition-related policy, system, and environmental (PSE) interventions designed to make healthy food choices accessible within community settings such as schools, childcare centers, grocery stores and convenience stores, farmers markets, and more in diverse communities.
Currently, the PSE READI offers and extensive library of worksheets, toolkits, and general resources plus online assessments and tailored recommendations for action planning related to six targeted intervention areas: Farmers Markets, Healthy Food Retail, Farm to School, Healthy Eating in Child Care, Food Pantries, and K-12 Schools.
The PSE READI is part of the USDA’s national , a one-stop shop for organizations seeking programs to improving nutritional health in their communities. Learn more about the history of this project (formerly named Building Capacity for Obesity Prevention - BCOP) and the development of the tool . Learn even more about this tool on our PSE READI page.
Current evaluation OSSEP project activities include:
- Technological maintenance of the PSE READI website in partnership with Keystone IT to ensure end-user satisfaction.
- Engagement of stakeholders across Ohio to take PSE READI assessments.
- Ongoing maintenance to ensure recommendations generated from the PSE READI reflect the latest evidence to support implementation of the six PSE areas featured on the website.
- Updating the online resource bank to ensure all recommendations and web-based resources are functional and up-to-date within all six PSE areas featured on the website.
- A data evaluation project to support PSE implementation and evaluate the impact of the PSE READI and a PSE pilot program on PSE efforts in Ohio. The project involves evaluation of PSE READI and PEARS data, and conducting selective, informal interviews with Ohio SNAP-Ed staff who implement PSEs.
Lee, E., Dalton, J., Ngendahima, D., Bebo, P., Davis, A., Remley, D., Smathers, C., & Freedman, D. A. (2017) Consensus-based assessment tool of readiness and capacity for implementing community-based nutrition interventions: A case study using farmers markets. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 7(3); 506-516.
Parsons, A. A., Monteban, M., Lee, E., Bebo, P., Zubieta, A. C., Ginnetti, S., Hewitt, J., & Freedman, D. (2019). Indicators of Readiness and Capacity for Implementation of Health Eating Strategies in Child Care Settings Serving Low-Income Children. Journal of nutrition education and behavior, 51(4), 465-477.
Cascio, M. A., Lee, E., Vaudrin, N., & Freedman, D. A. (2019). A team-based Approach to Open Coding: Considerations for Creating Intercoder Consensus. Field Methods, 31(2), 116-130.
Lee, E., Smathers, C., Zubieta, A. C., Ginnetti, S., Shah, A., & Freedman, D. A. (2019). Identifying Indicators of Readiness and Capacity for Implementing Farm-to-School Interventions. The Journal of school health, 89(5), 373-381.
Sanchez-Flack, J., Joshi, K., Lee, E. E., & Freedman, D. A. (2021). Indicators of readiness and capacity for implementation of health food retail interventions. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 10(3), 1-17.
Yamoah, O., Schulte, J., Osborn, L., Ogland-Hand, C., Zubieta, A. C., & Freedman, D. A. (2023). Pantry clients and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education practitioners' perspectives on factors influencing health eating policy, systems and environmental interventions in food pantries. Journal of Nutritional Science, 12, e81.
Page updated on April 29, 2025. OSSEP is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (G-2425-17-0632). This website does not reflect the official views or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.