Kristen Cooksey Stowers

Kristen Cooksey Stowers is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut’s Hartford campus. Her research focuses on Healthy Cities, addressing systemic racism and equity in urban environments. She specializes in food systems, food policy, and health disparities, with a focus on food pantries, nutrition interventions, and policy implementation in childcare and low-income communities.

Her work combines qualitative and quantitative methods to study food access challenges, including food swamp dynamics and the reliability of food distribution systems. She has conducted studies on client preferences for nutrition interventions, staff attitudes toward food rating systems, and the nutritional quality of food pantry offerings. Her research also extends to multilevel interventions in low-income housing to improve fruit and vegetable intake.

Dr. Cooksey Stowers holds a leadership role in the Research on Resilient Cities, Racism, and Equity initiative, addressing urban health equity through collaborative projects. Her publications span journals in public health, nutrition, community health, and food policy, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach to solving complex social determinants of health.