Sarah Amin

  • Associate Professor, Director of SNAP-Ed & EFNEP
  • Department of Nutrition
  • Phone: 401.874.4024
  • Email: sarah_amin@uri.edu
  • Office Location: Kingston, RI - Fogarty Hall, Rm 117B
    Providence, RI - Shepard Building, Rm 300
  • Website

Lab

Community Nutrition Security Research Group

Courses Taught

  • NUT 394: Nutrition in the Lifecycle I
  • NUT 458: Nutrition Education
  • NUT 506: Community Nutrition

Biography

Dr. Sarah Amin is an Associate Professor and Director of Community Nutrition Education in the Department of Nutrition at the University of Rhode Island. Her work advances nutrition security and food access through community-engaged research and education grounded in policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies. She leads initiatives that bridge research and practice in partnership with schools, Cooperative Extension, community organizations, healthcare systems, and state agencies.

Dr. Amin’s work is closely connected to federal nutrition programs, including EFNEP and SNAP-Ed, and to strengthening Rhode Island’s Farm to School efforts. In the context of shifting federal nutrition policy, she prioritizes building and sustaining statewide nutrition and food systems education infrastructure. Her emerging research focuses on Food is Medicine and strengthening clinical–community partnerships to address rising rates of diet-related chronic disease among Rhode Islanders.

At URI, Dr. Amin teaches courses grounded in community engagement, where students collaborate with Rhode Island partners to apply research and policy tools to advance nutrition security.

Research

Dr. Amin’s research addresses persistent gaps in the implementation and sustainability of evidence-based nutrition strategies within marginalized communities. Her work advances nutrition security and food access through community-engaged scholarship that integrates intervention development, implementation, and evaluation.

Dr. Amin’s nutrition education and research team emphasize culturally inclusive intervention design and dietary assessment across school, community, and healthcare settings. Federal nutrition programs, including EFNEP, are central to their efforts, providing a platform to translate research into practice. More recently, Dr. Amin’s research has expanded to include Food is Medicine implementation and evaluation in Rhode Island.

Dr. Amin serves as a research advisor and collaborator across local, statewide, and regional food systems initiatives, including Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island (Board Member), the Rhode Island Farm to School Network (Leadership Council Member), Rhode Island Food Strategy 2.0, New England Feeding New England, and the URI Free Farmers’ Market. Her team’s work is grounded in URI’s land-grant mission and committed to advancing health equity across Rhode Island communities.

Education

  • Postdoctoral Scholar, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
  • Ph.D., Nutrition and Food Science, University of Vermont
  • M.P.H., Brown University
  • B.A., Biology, Wheaton College

Current Graduate Students

  • Maruth Emilcar, MS
  • Maria Meola, MS

Former Graduate Students

  • Nick Hamdi, PhD, RDN (2024)
  • Jackie Potvin, PhD, RDN (2024)
  • Luisa Santos, MS (2024)
  • Maria Meola, MS (2024)
  • Fatima Tobar, MHA (RIC, 2023)

Selected Publications

Hamdi N, Samson M, Balestracci K, Tovar A, Corcoran C, Watts DJ, Tobar F, Potvin J, Amin S. Multi-prong formative evaluation of a pediatric clinical-community food assistance and education intervention. Am J Health Promot. 2024 Nov 19:8901171241301886. doi: 10.1177/08901171241301886.

Potvin J, Chappell K, Balestracci K, Greene G, Sweetman S, Amin S. A Formative Evaluation of a STEAM and Nutrition Education Summer Program for Low-Income Youth. Evaluation and Program Planning. 2023; 97:102255. doi: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2023.102255

Donahue B, Amin S, Barley L, Richardson S. New England Feeding New England: Volume 1: Estimating Resilient Eating Patterns, 2023. https://nefoodsystemplanners.org/wp-content/uploads/NEFNE_Volume-1_Estimating-Resilient-Eating-Patterns.pdf

Amin S, Hafner S, McNamara J, Raymond J, Balestracci K, Missimer A, Potvin J, Greene G. Development and validation of the ASKFV-SE tool for requesting fruits and vegetables. Journal of Nutritional Science. 2023; 2(12). doi: 10.1017/jns.2022.59

Bouchard K, Grigsby-Toussaint D, Fox K, Amin S, Vadiveloo M, Greaney M, Tovar A. Maternal experiences with discussing complementary feeding in primary care. Patient Education and Counseling, Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(19):12061. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191912061

Sacheck JM, Wright CM, Amin SA, Anzman-Frasca V, Chui K, Duquesnay P, Nelson ME, Economos CD. The FLEX Study: effects of a two-year randomized controlled trial of school-based activity programs on children’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2021; 60(6): 239-249. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2021.02.002

Lyerly R, Rummo P, Amin S, Evans W, Cohen ED, Lawson E, Hallett E, De’Oliveria S, Rose J, Coats C, Nunn A. Effectiveness of mobile produce markets in increasing access and affordability of fruits and vegetables among low-income seniors; Public Health Nutrition. 2020; 1-10. doi: 10.1017/S1368980020002931

Amin SA, Lehnerd M, Cash S, Economos CD, Sacheck JM. The reliability and validity of a youth food literacy tool. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2019; 51(3): 364-369. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2018.12.006

Sacheck JM, Amin SA. Cardiorespiratory fitness in children and youth—a call for surveillance, but how do we do it? Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews. 2018; 46(2).  doi: 10.1249/JES.0000000000000145

Amin SA, Panzarella C, Lehnerd M, Cash S, Economos CD, Sacheck JM. Identifying food literacy educational opportunities for youth. Health Education & Behavior. 2018; 1-8.  https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198118775485

Amin SA, Duquesnay PJ, Wright CM, Chui K, Economos CD, Sacheck JM. Perceived athletic competence and physical activity: implications for low-income schoolchildren. Pediatric Exercise Science. 2018; 20: 1-8. doi: 10.1123/pes.2017-0242

Amin SA, Lehnerd M, Cash S, Economos CD, Sacheck J. A case study of a nutrition cohort: the development of a funder-initiated learning collaborative. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 2018; 8(2): 1-15. doi: 10.5304/jafscd.2018.082.009

Amin SA, Wright CM, Chui K, Economos CD, Chomitz V, Boulos R, Sacheck J. The association between the physical activity environment and academic success in Massachusetts schoolchildren. Journal of School Health. 2017; 87(12): 932-40.  doi: 10.1111/josh.12569