Nutrition Policy Institute researchers Christina Hecht and Janice Kao will take part in the 2022 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior conference on the intersection of nutrition education and behavior and the digital world. Hecht is a co-author of the abstract “Associations of Perceptions of Water Safety and Tap Water Taste with Beverage Intake Among U.S. Adults,” which Sohyun Park, the lead investigator, will present as a poster. Kao will present a poster from the NPI CalFresh Healthy Living evaluation unit research team—Carolyn Rider, Christina Becker, Evan Talmage, Kaela Plank, Amanda Linares, and Kao—in person from 12:15 to 2:00 EDT on July 31. The poster is titled, “Where Do We Go from Here? California Local Health Departments Navigate School-based SNAP-Ed During COVID-19.” The conference will be held in person, in Atlanta, Georgia, and virtually, from July 29 to July 31, 2022.
- Author: Cate Seel
- Contributor: Amanda M Linares
- Editor: Danielle L. Lee
- Editor: Lorrene Ritchie
Researchers from the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Nutrition Policy Institute recruited 36 elementary schools from across California to serve as comparison schools to evaluate the impact of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) programming at school sites. School-based SNAP-Ed initiatives include direct nutrition and physical activity education, indirect education, such as materials sent home to families, and policy, systems, and environmental change strategies that promote healthy eating to advance food and nutrition security, reduce diet-related chronic disease, and promote equity. The research team developed and implemented a flexible recruitment strategy that allowed for different routes to administrative and district approval of socioeconomically similar comparison schools. In addition, they learned to effectively use a combination of online and in-person communication, build relationships with various administrators, and highlight the tangible benefits of participation when recruiting. Led by Amanda Linares, Phoebe Harpainter, Kaela Plank, and Gail Woodward-Lopez, the study was published in the Journal of Extension. The study is funded by USDA's SNAP-Ed and is supported by the California Department of Public Health Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Branch.
The American Society for Nutrition's annual conference, Nutrition 2022 Live Online, happens virtually June 14-16, 2022. Nutrition Policy Institute researchers will share results at the conference from their latest studies on the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Marisa Tsai will speak about ‘Larger WIC Cash Value Benefit for Vegetables and Fruit Is Associated With Lower Food Insecurity and Improved Participant Satisfaction in WIC Families With Children'; co-authors include Lorrene Ritchie from NPI. Amanda Linares will present a poster on ‘Association of Frequency of School Meal Consumption and Student Dietary Intake during COVID-related School Closures'; co-authors include Kaela Plank, Sridharshi Hewawitharana and Gail Woodward-Lopez from NPI. Both Tsai and Linares' presentations are available on-demand. University of California, Davis graduate student Alana Chaney will present live, online a poster on ‘Addressing Barriers to WIC Participation During COVID-19: A Qualitative Examination of California WIC Participants and Local Agency Directors'; co-authors include Lorrene Ritchie, Marisa Tsai and Nicole Vitale of NPI.
Schools are an ideal setting for policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) approaches to childhood obesity prevention. An initial assessment of a school's health environment, policies, and practices is critical for planning and identifying priority PSE interventions, while reassessment can be used to identify measurable change for ongoing planning and evaluation purposes. School-based obesity prevention programs need an assessment that measures wellness policy implementation and compliance at the school level, as required by the Local School Wellness Policy Implementation Final Rule of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The assessment must comprehensively assesses school nutrition and physical activity practices, and have the measurement properties necessary to detect change over time and differences between schools. Nutrition Policy Institute researchers shared the development and psychometric testing of a site-level questionnaire for elementary schools that fills this gap in an article published December 20, 2021 in the journal Childhood Obesity. Elementary schools and their partners can use the new instrument to plan PSE interventions, measure obesity-prevention best practices and wellness policy implementation, and evaluate their progress towards achieving best practices in nutrition and physical activity. Study authors include researchers from the NPI CalFresh Healthy Living evaluation team, Carolyn Rider, Janice Kao, Sridharshi Hewawitharana, Christina Becker, Amanda Linares, and Gail Woodward-Lopez.
Child care sites, schools, and out-of-school programs are important targets for health promotions and practices to support children in healthy eating and physical activity. Cooperative Extension programs often partner with these settings to implement the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) policy, systems, and environment (PSE) interventions. Researchers at the Nutrition Policy Institute have developed a new set of tools to support Extension professionals in measuring and supporting SNAP-Ed program planning and evaluation efforts. The tools, called the site-level assessment questionnaires (SLAQs), assesses institutional healthful eating and physical activity practices in child care sites, schools, and out-of-school programs. In their latest study published in Journal of Extension titled "Assessing Healthful Eating and Physical Activity Practices in Places Children Learn", NPI researchers describe the development and feasibility testing of the new SLAQs tools. The questionnaires are available in two formats: a printable Word document that can be shared by multiple staff involved in completing the questionnaire (recommended for schools) and an online survey which can be completed live or from a pre-filled Word document questionnaire. Visit the NPI SLAQs website to gain access to the questionnaires and training materials. The questionnaire developed for schools can be used by schools to self-assess alignment with the final rule of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which outlines school wellness requirements for local educational agencies and schools participating in the USDA National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Study co-authors include NPI researchers Carolyn D. Rider, Amanda Linares, Janice Kao, Christina Becker, and Gail Woodward-Lopez. The study was funded by a grant from the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education.