Nutrition Policy Institute researcher, Celeste Felix, will present evaluation findings showing reductions in solid waste when a large, urban California school district transitioned from reheated pre-packaged school meals served with single-use disposables to freshly prepared meals served with reusable trays and cutlery. Felix will be joined by project collaborators Stephanie Willits from Fremont Unified School District and Benjamin Schleifer from the Center for Environmental Health. Their talk, “Reusables in the Cafeteria: A School District's Journey to Zero Waste,” will take place on November 13, 2024 from 10-11am at the Pasadena Conference Center as part of the Green California Schools & Higher Education Summit. The evaluation results are from a multi-year project funded by the US Department of Agriculture, Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. The project aims to understand the impact of transitioning to freshly-prepared school meals on meal appeal, student participation, food and packaging waste, and school finances.
The University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources invites applications for a UC Cooperative Extension Specialist to become the next Director of the Nutrition Policy Institute. The Director leads strategic food and nutrition policy research, cultivates partnerships, identifies and secures grant funding, and provides overall leadership and operational oversight of the Nutrition Policy Institute. This position is based in Oakland, CA, and is focused on work across the state as well as nationally. The beginning salary will be in the Cooperative Extension Specialist series, Associate Step 1 $109,000 to Full Title Specialist Step VI $184,500 and commensurate with applicable experience and professional qualifications. The Cooperative Extension position is a two- or three-year renewable term appointment and is eligible for indefinite status (no end) after three terms. Application packets must be received by December 31, 2024 to assure full consideration. More information on how to apply is available online. Questions? Contact Tatiana Avoce – email: tavoce@ucanr.edu. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
A 2024 study identified Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP, shopper and farmers' market staff perceptions of the California Fruit and Vegetable Electronic Benefit Transfer Pilot Project. This effort, spearheaded by the California Department of Social Services, tested a new model for the California Nutrition Incentive Program, or CNIP, California's longer-running supplemental benefit program that provides matching dollars to SNAP participants to purchase fruits and vegetables at farmers' markets. The Pilot Project differed from the traditional CNIP dollar-for-dollar incentive match model in several ways, including offering a $60 monthly supplemental benefit that could be redeemed in a single shopping trip, rather than weekly increments, and the ability to spend the supplemental benefit on any SNAP-eligible item at any retail location, rather than solely on fruits and vegetables at the farmers' market, as required by CNIP. Focus groups with 40 SNAP shoppers and 17 farmers' market staff indicated that shoppers appreciated the ability to earn the full monthly benefit during a single shopping trip and the option to spend it on any SNAP-eligible item at any retailer. Most shoppers reported spending the additional benefit at grocery stores rather than farmers' markets, validating staff concerns about SNAP shoppers not spending their supplemental benefit dollars at farmers' markets. Challenges included difficulties understanding the pilot program and longer lines at farmers' markets to access the benefits. The study, funded by the Ecology Center and the California Department of Social Services, was published October 2024 in the journal Nutrients by NPI co-authors Ron Strochlic, Sridharshi Hewawitharana and Wendi Gosliner and former NPI team member Carolyn Chelius.
- Author: Brianna Aguayo Villalon
The American Public Health Association's 2024 Annual Meeting & Expo will take place in Minneapolis, Minnesota from October 27-29, 2024 to gather nearly 13,000 public health professionals to connect, learn, and inspire each other. This year's conference centers on "Rebuilding Trust in Public Health and Science," focusing on the challenges posed by political polarization, underfunding, and distrust in scientific research. Nutrition Policy Institute researchers will present recent findings on school recess and physical education and universal school meal policies. A list of the live oral presentations is found below.
- Not all fun and games: Disparities in school recess persist and must be addressed
- Authors: Hannah Thompson, Rebecca London
- Date: Monday, October 28, 11:00 - 11:15 a.m. CDT. Oral presentation by Hannah Thompson
- Statewide universal school meals policies are associated with greater household food security
- Authors: Dania Orta-Aleman, Monica Zuercher, Lorrene Ritchie, Juliana Cohen, Wendi Gosliner
- Date: Tuesday, October 29, 9:10 - 9:30 a.m. CDT. Oral presentation by Dania Orta-Aleman
- Impact of a multilevel, multicomponent intervention to improve elementary school physical education on student cardiorespiratory fitness
- Authors: Hannah Thompson, Kristine Madsen, Caroline Nguyen, Thomas McKenzie, Sally Picciotto
- Date: Wednesday, October 30, 8:30 - 8:45 a.m. CDT. Oral presentation by Hannah Thompson
University of California's Research Consortium on Beverages and Health released a new fact sheet to help educate community members and decision-makers on added-sugar consumption in sugary drinks as a leading cause of tooth decay. The fact sheet, ‘Sugary Drinks: A Double Whammy for Teeth', explains how the acids and sugars in sugary drinks contribute to tooth decay. The Consortium previously released five other fact sheets on sugary drinks. All the Consortium fact sheets translate the science into key points, provided in language that is short and easy to read. The Consortium—comprised of faculty working across the field of sugar science from all ten UC campuses and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources—is coordinated by the Nutrition Policy Institute under the leadership of Christina Hecht, Ken Hecht, and Pat Crawford. Please contact Ken Hecht for more information about the Consortium and Christina Hecht for additional resources for community education on healthy beverage choices.