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Cara L. Cuite, Ph.D.
Associate Extension Specialist/Associate Professor
Cook Office Building, Room 217
848-932-4544
cuite@rutgers.edu
Biography
Dr. Cara Cuite serves as an Associate Extension Specialist and Associate Professor in the Department of Human Ecology at Rutgers University. She is a health psychologist who studies food security and risk communication. She leads the research program on basic needs insecurities among Rutgers students and works closely with community partners on food security projects across New Jersey. She serves as the lead for the Food Security Community Learning Table for the Rutgers Equity Alliance for Community Health. Her risk communication research and outreach focus on food safety, genetically engineered foods, and weather-related emergencies. She has conducted risk communication trainings both within the US and internationally. Dr. Cuite’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She serves on the Advisory Committee of the New Jersey Food Democracy Collaborative and the Board of Directors of Meals on Wheels in Greater New Brunswick. She completed her Ph.D. in Psychology at Rutgers University, and a B.S. in Psychology and Modern Languages from Union College.
Recent Publications
Gray, V., Cuite, C.L., Hagedorn-Hatfield, R. Richards, R., Qamar, Z., Hood, L., Landry, M., Savoie-Roskos, M., Vogelzang, J., Machado, S., OoNorasak, K., Heying, C., Patton-López, M., (in press). Food Insecurity Knowledge and Training in Interdisciplinary Health Professions Education. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
Morss, R.L., Cuite, C.L., Demuth, J. (2024). “What predicts hurricane evacuation decisions? The importance of efficacy beliefs, risk perceptions, and other factors” npj Natural Hazards 1, 24 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-024-00025-8
Brescia, S. & Cuite., C.L. (2024). Social Stigma, Logistics, and Reserving Resources for Others: Understanding Barriers to Campus Pantry Use. Journal of College and Character. 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/2194587X.2024.2388246
Landry, M. J., Savoie-Roskos, M. R., Gray, V., Mann, G., Qamar, Z., Hagedorn-Hatfield, R. L., Cuite, C.L., Heying, E., Hood, L.B., OoNorasak, K. (2024). Food security as a basic need: College students need greater support from institutional administration. Journal of American College Health, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2024.2334074
Errickson, W., Waller, T., Bakacs, M., Cuite, C. L. (2024). Native plant needs assessment of nursery and landscape professionals. Journal of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents, 17, 1.
Agusdinata, B. Hanif, M., Shwom, R., Watkins, D., Floress, K., Cuite, C., Halvorsen, K. (2024) Effectiveness of conservation messages to reduce households’ GHG emissions: A serious-gaming experiment. Journal of Environmental Management, 351, 119948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119948
Young, T., Cumming G., Kerns, E., Hunter-Thomson, K, Manik-Perlman, T., Palacio, T., Veang, N., Weng, WX, Yin, F., Cuite, C.L. (2023). Strategies for increasing participation of diverse consumers in a community seafood program. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 36, 18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-023-09912-y
Landry, M., Savoie-Roskos, M., Richards, R., Qamar, Z., Hood, L., Vogelzang, J., OoNorasak, K., Cuite, C.L., Heying, C., Hagedorn-Hatfield, R. (2023). Advancing College Student Food Security: Priority Research Gaps. Nutrition Research Reviews. 9:1-13. doi: 10.1017/S0954422423000094. Rebecca L. Hagedorn-Hatfield, Zubaida Qamar, Rickelle Richards, Megan M. Patton-López, Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos, Emily K. Heying, Matthew J. Landry, Georgianna Mann, Jody L. Vogelzang, Kendra OoNorasak, Cara L. Cuite & Lanae B. Hood (2023) Barriers and facilitators to implementing and sustaining campus food insecurity initiatives, Studies in Higher Education 10.1080/03075079.2023.2195414
Caggiano, H; Sonya Ahamed; William Lytle; Chelsea Schelly; Kristin Floress; Cuite, C.L.; Rachael Shwom. (2023). Green roles at home: Exploring the impact of household social dynamic processes on consumption at the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus; Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. 10.1007/s13412-023-00824-x
Ahamed, S., Caggiano, H. Shwom, R., Cuite, C., Schelly, C., Floress, K., Lytle, W., Watkins, D., Wallace, C., and Cook, R. (2023). “Being able to work has kept our life fairly constant:” Reconciling social practice models to assess the impact of (infra)structural inequities on household wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability. 10.1088/2634-4505/acc272
Kumar, P, Caggiano, H., Cuite, C.L., Shwom, R., Felder, F. (2023). Analyzing spillovers from food, energy, and water conservation behaviors using insights from systems perspective. Behavioral Public Policy. 10.1017/bpp.2022.41
Cuite, C.L., Dietz, K., Bates, L. & Brescia, S. (2023). Changes in food security status during undergraduate enrollment. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 55(2). 86-95. 10.1016/j.jneb.2022.08.004
Kumar, P, Caggiano, H., Cuite, C., Andrews, C., Felder, F. Shwom, R., Floress, K., Ahamed, S., Shelley, C. (2022). Behaving or not? Explaining energy conservation via identity, values, and awareness in U.S. suburban homes. Energy Research and Social Science 92. 10.1016/j.erss.2022.102805
Brescia, S., & Cuite, C.L. (2022). Underestimating college student food insecurity: Marginally food secure students may not be food secure. Nutrients 14(15), 3142. 10.3390/nu14153142
Hagedorn-Hatfield, R. Richards, R., Qamar, Z., Hood, L., Landry, M., Savoie-Roskos, M., Vogelzang, J., Machado, S., OoNorasak, K., Cuite, C., Heying, C., Patton-López, M., Snelling, A. (2022). Campus-based programs to address food insecurity vary in leadership, funding, and evaluation strategies. Nutrition Bulletin. 47(3), 322-332. 10.1111/nbu.12570
Cuite, C.L. & Errickson, L. (2022). Food insecurity programming in urban areas: A case study of New Brunswick, NJ. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 10(2), 26-43. scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/jhse/vol10/iss2/5/
Qamar, Z, Hagedorn-Hatfield, R.L, Gray, V.B., Shilts, M., Cuite, CL. (2022). Re-envisioning nutrition instruction in higher education. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 54(3), 199-200. 10.1016/j.jneb.2022.01.003
Floress, K., Shwom, R., Caggiano, H., Slattery, J., Cuite, C.L., Schelley, C., Halvorson, K., Lytle, W. (2022). Habitual food, energy, and water consumption behaviors among adults in the United States: Comparing models of values, norms, and identity. Energy Research & Social Science, 85. 10.1016/j.erss.2021.102396
Student Basic Needs Insecurities
Visit the Robert Wood Johns Foundation funded Food Fuels Minds website here: https://sites.rutgers.edu/hccc-food-stories/
If you are interested in collaborating on research on Rutgers student basic needs insecurities, including analysis of existing survey data, please contact Cara Cuite at cuite@sebs.rutgers.edu. Find our Rutgers student reports here:
- Basic Needs Insecurities Among Rutgers Students–A Universitywide Survey (2023)
- Basic Needs Insecurity Among Rutgers–New Brunswick Students (2020) (955k PDF)
- Evaluation of Breakfast After the Bell in the New Brunswick Public Schools (2019) (661k PDF)
- Food Insecurity Among Students At Rutgers University – New Brunswick (2018) (1mb PDF)