Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior
The Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior is a nonprofit professional organization advancing nutrition education research, practice, policy, and professional development in the United States and internationally.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior, commonly known as SNEB, is a United States-based nonprofit professional organization representing people who work in nutrition education, food and nutrition research, health promotion, behavioral science, public health, education, cooperative extension, and related policy fields. Although it is not a consumer food brand, SNEB functions as an institutional and professional brand through its membership community, scientific publishing, annual conference, educational activities, policy work, and support for the development of future nutrition educators. SNEB was established in 1968 under the name Society for Nutrition Education. Its original purpose was closely connected to the creation and publication of the Journal of Nutrition Education. The journal’s first issue appeared in 1969, marking the beginning of the Society’s role in providing a scholarly forum for research and practice in nutrition education. After the publication was established, the organization broadened its mandate to include education, communication, research, and professional exchange across the nutrition and public-health fields. The Society’s founding group included George M. Briggs, Ruth L. Huenemann, George F. Stewart, Hellen Denning Ullrich, Helen E. Walsh, and Gaylor P. Whitlock, who were associated with universities, public-health agencies, agricultural extension, and nutrition-specialist roles in California. Their backgrounds reflected the interdisciplinary character that has continued to define SNEB: nutrition education is treated not only as the transmission of dietary information, but also as a field involving behavior change, communication, social environments, community programs, public policy, and evaluation. The Society’s official journal was renamed the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior in January 2002. The refereed publication covers original research, emerging issues, professional practice, policy perspectives, and other material relevant to nutrition education and food- and physical-activity-related behavior. It serves professionals working in nutrition, health, education, public health, community programming, and cooperative extension, and is published by SNEB with Elsevier. The journal is one of the organization’s principal vehicles for disseminating evidence and connecting research with practice. In January 2012, the organization adopted its current name, Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. The change made behavior an explicit part of the Society’s identity and reflected the broader scope of the field, including behavioral determinants of food choice, environmental supports, communication strategies, and interventions at individual, community, and policy levels. SNEB’s mission emphasizes nutrition and food education research, practice, and policy that promote equity and support public and planetary health. Its members work with families, students, communities, fellow professionals, institutions, and policymakers. SNEB also has an affiliated charitable body, the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Foundation. Established in 1977 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the foundation supports the next generation of nutrition educators through scholarship programs. It has been described as distributing approximately seven to ten scholarships annually, helping students and emerging professionals pursue education and development in the field. The organization maintains an international orientation despite its American origins. Its annual international conference brings together several hundred nutrition educators and related professionals, with reported attendance typically in the range of 500 to 700 people. In July 2018, the United Nations granted SNEB special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. That status enables ECOSOC to seek expert information and advice from the organization on matters connected with nutrition education. SNEB therefore operates at the intersection of professional association, scientific publisher, educational network, conference organizer, and policy resource. Its principal value proposition is not a commercial product but the development and circulation of evidence-based knowledge and practice for improving food, nutrition, health, equity, and sustainability outcomes.
History
The Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior was founded in 1968 as the Society for Nutrition Education, a nonprofit association created to support the publication of a professional journal and to represent an emerging field concerned with the education of individuals and communities about food, nutrition, and health. Its founding members were George M. Briggs, Ruth L. Huenemann, George F. Stewart, Hellen Denning Ullrich, Helen E. Walsh, and Gaylor P. Whitlock. Their professional affiliations included the University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at Davis, public-health services, and agricultural extension. This mixture of academic, governmental, and community-program experience shaped the Society’s interdisciplinary orientation. The organization’s first major publishing initiative was the Journal of Nutrition Education. The first issue was released in 1969. Once the journal was established, the Society expanded beyond publishing to include professional education, communication, research exchange, and activities intended to strengthen nutrition education practice. The field increasingly came to encompass behavioral science, program design, community engagement, health communication, evaluation, and the influence of social and physical environments on food choices. In 1977, the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Foundation was created as a separate 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The foundation’s purpose was to support students and early-career professionals entering nutrition education. Its scholarship programs became an important mechanism for developing the profession’s next generation, with the organization reporting approximately seven to ten scholarships distributed annually. The Society’s journal changed its name in January 2002 to the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. The revised title reflected the publication’s widening subject matter, which includes research and practice concerning nutrition education, dietary behavior, physical-activity behavior, communication, policy, and the environments in which behavior occurs. SNEB publishes the journal with Elsevier. The publication remains a central mechanism for documenting original research, emerging issues, professional practice, policy statements, and perspectives relevant to nutrition educators and allied professionals. In January 2012, the parent organization changed its name to the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. The new name made explicit that the Society addresses both educational strategies and the behaviors those strategies seek to influence. SNEB’s adopted definition of nutrition education, associated with scholar Isobel Contento, describes it as a combination of educational strategies and environmental supports designed to facilitate voluntary adoption of food and nutrition-related behaviors conducive to health and well-being. This approach positions nutrition education as a multilevel activity rather than a simple one-way transfer of dietary information. SNEB’s mission focuses on advancing food and nutrition education research, practice, and policy in ways that promote equity and support public and planetary health. Its members educate families, students, communities, policymakers, and other professionals. The Society’s work covers individual, community, organizational, and policy settings, and its membership includes people connected with health, nutrition, education, public health, cooperative extension, research, and program administration. The organization also operates as a convening network. Its international conference is held during the summer and has attracted approximately 500 to 700 attendees from around the world. Recorded recent conference locations include Minneapolis in 2018, Orlando in 2019, a virtual meeting in 2020, Atlanta in 2022, and Washington, D.C., in 2023. In 2018, the United Nations Economic and Social Council granted SNEB special consultative status. This status gives the Society an avenue for providing expert information and advice on nutrition education-related matters. Today, SNEB is best understood as a professional and knowledge institution rather than a conventional commercial brand. Its activities combine scholarly publishing, professional membership, conferences, educational exchange, policy engagement, and philanthropic support for students. The Society’s identity is built around evidence-based nutrition education, behavior change, health equity, and the relationship between food systems, public health, and planetary well-being.
- 2020
Annual conference held virtually
[1]The Society’s recorded conference history identifies the 2020 annual meeting as a virtual event.
- 2018
Receives United Nations consultative status
[1]The United Nations Economic and Social Council granted SNEB special consultative status.
- 2012
Organization adopts current name
[1]The Society changed its name to the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior, reflecting its expanded focus on behavioral science and behavior change.
- 2002
Official journal receives its current title
[1]The Journal of Nutrition Education was renamed the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
- 1977
SNEB Foundation is established
[1]The Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Foundation was created as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to support future nutrition educators.
- 1969
First journal issue is published
[1]The first issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education was published, giving the Society a formal scholarly communications platform.
- 1968
Society for Nutrition Education is founded
[1]The nonprofit organization was established under the name Society for Nutrition Education to represent and develop the emerging professional field of nutrition education.
Products and positioning
An interdisciplinary nonprofit professional society for advancing evidence-based nutrition education, behavior change, research, practice, policy, and professional development.
Scholarly journal · 1969
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
SNEB’s refereed scientific journal publishes original research, emerging issues, professional practices, policy perspectives, and related communications in nutrition education and behavior. Its scope includes dietary and physical-activity behaviors, education strategies, communication, community interventions, evaluation, and policy. The journal serves researchers and practitioners in nutrition, public health, education, health promotion, and cooperative extension. SNEB publishes it in partnership with Elsevier.
Professional conference
SNEB International Conference
The annual international conference brings together nutrition educators, researchers, practitioners, students, and allied professionals. It provides a setting for presenting research, sharing program methods, discussing policy, and building professional networks. Reported attendance has generally been approximately 500 to 700 participants, with recent meetings held in the United States and, in 2020, virtually.
Professional membership · 1968
SNEB professional membership
Membership connects professionals and students working in nutrition education, behavioral science, public health, food systems, education, research, policy, and community programming. The membership proposition centers on access to a professional network, scholarly and practice-oriented exchange, conference participation, and opportunities to contribute to the field.
Educational scholarship · 1977
SNEB Foundation scholarships
The affiliated Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Foundation operates scholarship programs intended to support students and emerging professionals pursuing nutrition education and related fields. The foundation has been described as distributing approximately seven to ten scholarships annually.
Brand decisions
2018
Pursue a formal role in international policy dialogueStrategyBackground
SNEB sought to contribute professional expertise on nutrition education and related public-health issues beyond its membership and publishing activities.
Action taken
The United Nations Economic and Social Council granted SNEB special consultative status.
Aftermath
The status created an institutional channel through which the Society may provide expert information and advice to ECOSOC on relevant nutrition-education matters.
2012
Adopt the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior nameStrategyBackground
The organization increasingly addressed behavior change, environmental supports, communication, and policy in addition to conventional nutrition education.
Action taken
The organization changed its name from Society for Nutrition Education to Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior.
Aftermath
The current name communicates the Society’s wider focus on nutrition-related behavior and the conditions that influence it.
2002
Expand the journal’s identity to include behaviorStrategyBackground
The Society’s publication had developed beyond a narrow education focus and addressed behavioral, communication, community, and policy dimensions of food and nutrition.
Action taken
The Journal of Nutrition Education was renamed the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
Aftermath
The new title aligned the official publication with the Society’s broader interdisciplinary scope.
Recent events
- 2018
United Nations grants SNEB special consultative status[1]
Regulation · Other
The United Nations Economic and Social Council granted the Society special consultative status, recognizing its potential contribution of expert information and advice concerning nutrition education.
- 2012
Society adopts the name Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior[1]
Other
The organization changed its name from Society for Nutrition Education to Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior, emphasizing the behavioral dimensions of food and nutrition education.
- 2002
Journal title changes to Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior[1]
Other
The Society’s official publication adopted its current title, broadening the journal’s stated scope to include nutrition education and behavior.
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