Background

Sarah McKee, PhD, is a researcher focusing on nutrition and the overall field of wellness among younger populations . She currently works as a Nutrition Specialist at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, where she implements policy, systems, and environmental changes in food pantries and other food assistance programs. McKee’s main area of research and engagement covers the intersection between food insecurity and schools. Most of her work is focused on nutrition in schools, food pantries, and food banks. She does this work in an attempt to decrease food insecurity, especially in schools. “Schools have a very wide reach to children, which allows us to help provide the students with nutritious food options during most of the year,” McKee says.

McKee’s field of interest naturally fell into her lap. Her academic interest was initially in psychology, in which she majored as an undergraduate. Studying psychology caused McKee to wonder, “What are the factors that drive people to make decisions about their food choices?” Thinking about this question caused McKee to look deeper into the role of institutions and systems that may affect an individual’s food choices, and ultimately sparked her interest in food insecurity. Additionally, McKee took a Careers in Psychology course as an undergraduate, which encouraged students to branch out and explore different careers. During her exploration, she was able to engage in her first ever research project, which led her to realize that she wanted to pursue a career in research.

Prior to her current work, McKee held the roles of Research Technician and Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut following the completion of her PhD at UConn in 2023.

Involvement with CSCH

McKee joined the collaboratory as an affiliate because the work being done by CSCH aligns perfectly with her personal career interests. “I appreciate the breadth of work being done by all of the affiliates,” she says. McKee has focused mostly on school nutrition, which is a domain of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model. “Systems are very important in school and child health,” says McKee. “Taking a systems approach such as the WSCC model helps to further address the root causes of child health issues.”

McKee’s master’s thesis focused on the WellSAT WSCC, a tool designed to measure the school wellness policies that relate to the WSCC model.

You can learn more about McKee and her work by visiting her Bluesky account.

Fun Facts

One of McKee’s favorite hobbies to do in her free time is nail art. She utilizes a method of nail art called stamping, where you stamp each nail with combinations of pre-printed designs to achieve a beautiful final product.

Undergraduate Researcher Elena Roberts interviewed Sarah McKee and wrote this profile.