UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP) has released the request for proposals for the 2023-24 UC SAREP Small Grants Program. The program funds research projects, education and demonstration programs of research-based technologies and systems, and projects that support the development of sustainable community food systems.  

Apply by 12 p.m. PST on Jan. 10, 2023.

For more information and to apply, visit https://sarep.ucdavis.edu/grantsFY23-24.

Previously funded projects are posted at https://sarep.ucdavis.edu/ucsarep-grants.

 

At the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health convened since 1969, President Biden announced on Sept. 28 a national strategy “to end hunger in America and increase healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases.” Much of the foundational research undergirding the strategy has been informed in part by the Nutrition Policy Institute, a program of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.

“Science is the work of many – and no one study answers all the questions – but we have a tremendous body of work that has contributed to this conference, building from all the programs and changes that were made from the last conference,” said NPI director Lorrene Ritchie.

The original Nixon-era conference produced about 1,800 recommendations – and 1,600 were eventually implemented in the subsequent years, according to Stacy Dean, U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services.

A litany of far-reaching programs grew from or were propelled by the 1969 conference: the School Breakfast Program, WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children), SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)-Ed and CalFresh Healthy Living UC, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and more.

This history illustrates the potential for sweeping change from this 2022 conference – which gathered about 500 experts and advocates (with 1,000 more participating online) – and from the national strategy that represents the Biden-Harris administration's “playbook.”

“Does that document have everything in it that we would like? No – but, oh my goodness, if we could accomplish all the things that they've laid out, what a transformational impact it would have,” said Ritchie, adding that she was thrilled that the highest levels of government are prioritizing hunger and nutrition-related chronic disease.

Including beverages in the conversation

In the course of gathering ideas and input from across the country, conference organizers asked Christina Hecht, NPI senior policy advisor, to author and submit NPI recommendations on encouraging the public to choose water instead of sugary drinks. Those suggestions – which range from including water in the “MyPlate” dietary guideline graphic to ensuring that every public school has a water bottle-filling station – crystallized extensive, rigorous scholarship by a broad community.

“NPI's recommendations were built on lots of work by many water researchers and advocates over the years; they're based on many years of thinking by many people,” Hecht said.

Christina and Ken Hecht, NPI policy director, also submitted recommendations as part of the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Reduction Workgroup, which brings together experts from national, state and local organizations. Several of their key proposals, such as targeting the marketing of sugary drinks and clarifying front-of-package nutrition labels, appear as recommended steps in the national strategy document.

Other nutrition policy changes compiled by Christina Hecht – like updating the Federal Food Service Guidelines used on federal properties and in federal programs – are also reflected in the national strategy, albeit without specifically mentioning sugary drinks. Nonetheless, Hecht believes doors have been opened for future discussions that could incorporate and promote healthy beverages.

“What those doors require are continuing to develop the evidence base, continuing to translate and share the evidence base, and continuing the advocacy to bring that evidence base to the attention of decision makers,” she said.

University of California setting an example

Suzanna Martinez, an NPI-affiliated researcher who attended the White House conference, said she hopes the convening generates momentum for two bills before Congress that would help alleviate food insecurity in higher education: one that provides funding for campuses to address students' basic needs, and another that reduces barriers to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps). The national strategy document explicitly acknowledges that “SNAP's college student eligibility restrictions are out of date given the current population who seek higher education credentials.”

Martinez, an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at University of California San Francisco, was invited to the conference because she's part of a group driving the UC's effort to halve the number of students facing food insecurity across the system by 2030. That commitment, and UC Berkeley's work on basic needs, were highlighted by Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff during the closing plenary session.

“The work that we're doing here in California tends to set the stage for what happens in other states,” said Martinez, who also cited California's pioneering effort to provide meals for all public school students.

NPI's ongoing work evaluating universal school meals in California and other states is just one example of how its academics and staff are refining innovative programs so they can be adopted more effectively and broadly (perhaps nationally). In fact, the White House identified “healthy school meals for all” as the top strategy for improving food access and affordability, and Ritchie applauds the administration's consistent emphasis on early interventions for healthier outcomes.

“The earlier you can create healthy habits – meaning in utero all the way through childhood – the more likely you are going to have adults who don't end up with nutrition-related chronic diseases,” she explained. “The last thing you want to do is to wait until people are really sick before they start to change their habits.”

Another overarching theme that excites Ritchie is the national strategy's “whole of government” approach to addressing a host of nutrition and hunger issues. One example is how the strategy calls for agencies not traditionally associated with food to contribute to reducing waste, such as the Department of the Treasury clarifying tax benefits for businesses that donate food.

“Throughout the document, over and over again, there are countless examples of creating synergies across government agencies and with local and state governments that can help move the needle,” Ritchie said. “It's just this kind of bold call to action that we really need.”

This year's Electronic Records Day event “The Great Digital Transformation – What's in it for You?” – is a Zoom forum hosted by the UC Records Management Committee.

The hour-long webinar will take place Nov. 1 at 10:01 a.m. Speakers will include experts in UC archives, records management and privacy. The experts will focus on their areas of expertise regarding collaboration tools. Each area will provide a 15-minute presentation. After the presentations, there will be a Q & A.

Register at https://ucsb.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XWnemeUGTkmYn9aZLQb0Ow.

Information about the speakers and their talks:

Christina Velazquez Fidler is the digital archivist at the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library. She manages the maintenance and stewardship of born digital archival collections. She received her B.A. in English at Humboldt State University in 2005, her MLIS from San Jose State University in 2010 and has been working in the archives profession for over 10 years. She has previous work experience as a software implementation consultant, archives assistant at the California Academy of Sciences, and as the archivist at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at UC Berkeley.

Acquiring born digital collections in a remote environment requires new approaches and system dependencies. In this presentation, Fidler will discuss steps taken by the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley to acquire born digital collections remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Many of these approaches are now regular practice in the current hybrid environment. In the context of selected collections, Fidler will discuss the Digital Archivist's Resource Tool (DART) and other tools being used to secure remote acquisitions.

Eric Kalmin is the director of Records Management and Information Practices at UC Merced. In his current role, he is responsible for the operational oversight and development of the records management, information practices, and campus privacy programs.

Prior to joining UC Merced, Kalmin worked for California State Parks focusing on records management, archives, and digital transformation initiatives. Kalmin holds a master's degree in archives and records administration from San Jose State University.

Jordan Thaw is a Central Valley native and proud UC Merced alumna, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences in May 2015. She began working at UC Merced in 2012 as a student assistant in the Physical Planning, Design and Construction department where she helped build their analog and digital archives.

In Thaw's current role as a records analyst in the Office of Legal Affairs, her major responsibilities include consulting with users about records management best practices and responding to CPRA and FERPA requests.

Presenters Kalmin and Thaw explore trends related to the adoption of digital collaboration tools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic – highlighting records management challenges and how campuses can raise awareness of the records they create, store and protect while collaborating virtually.

Kent Wada is chief privacy officer and director of policy and privacy for the University of California, Los Angeles.

Designated as the campus's first chief privacy officer, Wada addresses foundational privacy and data issues that have broad impact on the campus community, the academy, and the University mission. His office collaborates closely with other campus offices, including those with compliance authority for the protection of personal information and counterparts in the health sciences, to make UCLA a good steward of data. In his role as director of policy and privacy in the Office of Advanced Research Computing, Wada works broadly with the campus and its data and IT governance functions to help shape the institutional agenda for technology policy issues of strategic concern. He will give a brief presentation on digital collaboration tools and their impacts on privacy.

Franz Reinhart Kegel, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor emeritus, of Stockton, passed away peacefully on Oct. 2. He was 94.  

Kegel was born June 21, 1928, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to Friedrich and Margarete Kegel, German citizens who were living in the U.S. and teaching at Lehigh University. The Kegels moved back to Berlin, Germany, when Kegel was 10 years old, and he spent the World War II years there. As a dual U.S. and German citizen, Kegel returned to the U.S. in 1948 and worked on a ranch in San Mateo County. 

He attended UC Davis in 1948, was deployed to Korea, and then returned to Davis to earn his master's degree in agronomy.

In 1961, Kegel began his 30-plus-year UC career as a superintendent of field operations, later becoming 4-H advisor and ending his career as a UC Cooperative Extension field crops advisor, all in San Joaquin County. He had a great passion for the 4-H youth program and continued helping kids develop skills in field crops projects, 4-H camp and organized the area-wide 4-H sugarbeet field days at Spreckels Sugar plant in Manteca.

Kegel was known for his work in the San Joaquin/Sacramento Delta, especially in corn production and in Delta soils and salinity management, which later opened the door for the tremendous changes in cropping patterns we now see in the Delta. Sugar beets were an important crop during his tenure and he researched methods to reduce nematodes with cover crops and nitrogen management to increase sugar content, just to name two projects.

He always took pride in cooperating with UC specialists and professors from Davis, Berkeley and Riverside and felt that Cooperative Extension was the most valuable organization helping farmers and farm families. 

He married Bernette Gayle Wimer and they had five girls: Grete, Liesel, Elke, Erika and Monika. 

In 1985, after Liesel and Elke were killed by a drunk driver, Kegel began volunteering with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) as a victims' advocate and public speaker, spreading the word about the dangers of substance abuse for the next 33 years. 

Kegel loved walking the fields and building relationships with farmers and 4-H members. Family, friends, gardening, skiing and all things German gave him joy. 

We will miss him greatly.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the San Joaquin 4-H Foundation and mailed to Mick Canevari, Cabral Ag Center, 2101 E. Earhart Ave, Ste. 200, Stockton, CA 95206. 

A memorial service will be held on Friday, Nov. 4, at 10 a.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 18633 E. Front Street, Linden.