Nutrition Policy Institute researchers will present their collaborative research findings at the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior International Annual 2023 Conference in Washington, D.C. Wendi Gosliner presents on July 22, 9:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. ET as part of a session on "School Meals for All: Exploring Global Initiatives and Lessons Learned from California and Maine." Lorrene Ritchie presents a poster on July 23, 10:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET titled "Transition to Freshly-Prepared School Meals: Impacts on Meal Appeal, Student Participation, Intake, Food and Packaging Waste & School Finances;" the poster is co-authored by Celeste Felix and Danielle Lee from NPI, Hannah Thompson, Kristine Madsen and Caroline Nguyen from the University of California, Berkeley, and Laura Vollmer from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. Miranda Westfall presents a poster on July 23, 10:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET titled "Assessments of Practices to Support Nutrition and Physical Activity at CA SNAP-Ed Eligible Schools Reveal Inequities;" the poster is co-authored by Janice Kao, Carolyn Rider, Sridharshi Hewawitharana, Amanda Linares, and Gail Woodward-Lopez from NPI.
Summer Cortez joined the Nutrition Policy Institute at the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources on April 26, 2023 as a project policy analyst. She will serve as the new CalFresh Healthy Living Evaluation Unit manager, to support evaluation of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - Education in partnership with the California Department of Public Health and local health departments. Summer received a master's degree in community development from UC Davis, where she focused her studies on strategies to enhance regional food system resilience in the face of disasters. Her professional background is in program management, and she has spent the last seven years leading community education projects in land stewardship, nutrition and food literacy.
Ramsha Baig joined the Nutrition Policy Institute on April 6, 2023 as a research data analyst. Ramsha recently received her Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. She previously worked as a physician in India, where she completed undergraduate studies in Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery from Smt. C.M.P. Homeopathic Medical College and received a Post Graduate Diploma in Emergency Medical Services from Life Supporters Institute of Health Sciences (LIHS) from Mumbai, India. Her past research focused on parental vaccine hesitancy, promoting childhood vaccination, and reducing infectious burden in Africa. Ramsha brings her experience to support NPI's CalFresh Healthy Living Evaluation Unit to evaluate SNAP-Ed programming in partnership with the California Department of Public Health and local health departments.
- Author: Katherine Lanca
- Editor: Danielle L. Lee
- Editor: Amanda M Linares
- Editor: Miranda Westfall
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The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed), known as CalFresh Healthy Living (CFHL) in California, is the largest nutrition education program in the United States. CFHL supports healthy eating and active living in eligible California communities through direct education and policy, systems, and environmental changes, with a large portion of program activities taking place in schools. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced K-12 school closures, school-based in-person CFHL programming was adapted for online delivery. A new study examined the impact of modified CFHL program delivery during COVID-19 on dietary intake and physical activity among students in 47 intervention and 17 comparison schools. Researchers found that participation in CFHL during school closures significantly increased student fruit and vegetable intake. Findings demonstrate the protective effect of comprehensive nutrition and physical activity education programs during emergency social distancing measures. This study, published in the Public Health Nutrition journal, was conducted by Amanda Linares, Kaela Plank, Sridharshi Hewawitharana, and Gail Woodward-Lopez of the Nutrition Policy Institute with funding from the USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education.
A Research Data Analyst 3 position is available at the Nutrition Policy Institute, University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, located in Oakland, CA. This position will support evaluation studies conducted by NPI through its CalFresh Healthy Living contract with the California Department of Public Health. In California, SNAP-Ed is called CalFresh Healthy Living (CFHL) and is the largest nutrition education and obesity prevention program in the United States, with more than one-third of California residents eligible for CFHL. The Research Data Analyst 3 position requires the ability to independently perform data analysis, data management, data visualization, and reporting of organizational, policy and environmental data and individual-level data for studies of nutrition, physical activity and obesity. This position is a contract appointment that is 100% fixed through September 30, 2023. The pay scale is $6,908.33 to $9,800.00 per month. More information and instructions on how to apply are available online. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status or other protected categories covered by the UC nondiscrimination policy.