- Author: Katherine Lanca
- Editor: Danielle L. Lee
- Editor: Christina EA Hecht
The National Water Quality Monitoring Council is hosting a conference to call attention to monitoring water quality/quantity, public health, and ecological health in all water resources. The 13th National Monitoring Conference will be held from April 24-28, 2023 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with a limited virtual format. Christina Hecht, senior policy advisor at the Nutrition Policy Institute and coordinator of the National Drinking Water Alliance, is an invited panelist for the session “Lead Testing in Schools and Daycares: California's Case Example,” on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 from 10:30 a.m.-noon PDT. She will share her research experience and answer questions about school drinking water lead testing programs, policy and results in California and nationally. Prospective attendees may register and view the conference program agenda on the North American Lake Management Society website.
The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program provides reimbursements for nutritious meals and snacks to children enrolled in participating child care sites. Christina Hecht, senior policy advisor for the Nutrition Policy Institute and coordinator of the National Drinking Water Alliance, presented on the importance of the CACFP drinking water requirements and best practices for offering clean and safe drinking water in child care in an interactive session at the thirty-seventh National Child Nutrition Conference in San Diego, CA. Hecht presented her session, titled “A Fresh Take on Water in CACFP” on April 11, 2023.
- Author: Danielle L. Lee
- Editor: Ron Strochlic
The annual CalFresh Forum, hosted by Nourish California in partnership with the California Department of Social Services, brings together key stakeholders from across California to acknowledge outstanding work, identify opportunities, and discuss strategies to improve the reach and impact of CalFresh. Nutrition Policy Institute researchers Wendi Gosliner, Celeste Felix and Ron Strochlic will have a virtual booth at the Forum to highlight the successful CalFresh Text Messaging pilot project. From September 2020 to March 2021, over 172,000 San Diego CalFresh participants received text messages in English or Spanish from CDSS including a link directing recipients to a website with information on selecting, storing and preparing California-grown fruits and vegetables; health benefits; tips to reduce food waste; and recipes – including TikTok videos. The project was made possible in partnership with the UC San Diego Center for Community Health and the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, which administers CalFresh in the county. The CalFresh Forum will be hosted in-person and virtually February 15-16, 2023 at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena and the Whova Virtual Platform.
The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program provides reimbursements for nutritious meals and snacks served to children enrolled for care at participating child care centers and family child care homes. The 31st Annual CACFP Conference in Sacramento, California Oct. 17-19, 2022 will bring together over 500 participants from across the nation to provide training and support to members of the CACFP community. Nutrition Policy Institute researchers present the latest CACFP drinking water recommendations to encourage healthy hydration and new findings on barriers and facilitators to CACFP participation from a qualitative study of California-based independent child care centers and their sponsors. Christina Hecht will co-present an in-person session on Oct. 17, 2:30-3:45 p.m. titled “CACFP: Drinking Water's Friend” with Amanda Dyes, Deborah Gillison-Wilson, and Shelby Beverly from Georgia Nutritional Services, Inc. Danielle Lee will co-present an in-person session on Oct. 19, 10:45-12:00 noon titled “State Differences in CACFP Participation of Center-Based Programs” with Melissa McCann from the University of Connecticut, Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health.
- Author: Katherine Lanca
- Editor: Danielle L. Lee
- Editor: Lorrene Ritchie
The American Public Health Association holds an Annual Meeting & Expo for public health professionals to engage, collaborate, and network with the overarching goal of advancing the nation's health. This year's meeting in Boston, November 6-9, 2022 will celebrate 150 Years of Creating the Healthiest Nation: Leading the Path Toward Equity. Nutrition Policy Institute researchers will share findings that bring nutrition equity to the forefront of federal programs, school nutrition, community health, health literacy, and the food retail environment. A list of the poster presentations and live oral presentations is found below.
Retail food environment:
-
What can we learn from California's investment in the Healthy Stores Refrigeration Grant Program?
Authors: Carolyn Chelius, Caroline Long, Taylor Baisey, Wendi Gosliner
Wednesday, November 9, 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.; oral presentation
School meals:
-
Providing School Meals to All Students Free of Cost: Challenges and Benefits Reported by School District Foodservice Professionals to Inform California's Policy Implementation
Authors: Wendi Gosliner, Monica Zuercher, Juliana Cohen, Christina Hecht, Michele Polacsek, Kenneth Hecht, Lindsey Turner, Marlene Schwartz, Anisha Patel, Lorrene Ritchie
Monday, November 7, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.; oral presentation
-
Impact of a teacher intervention to encourage students to eat school lunch
Authors: Hannah Thompson, Stephanie Machado, Kristine Madsen, Renata Cauchon-Robles, Marisa Neelon, Lorrene Ritchie
Monday, November 7, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.; oral presentation
SNAP-Ed:
-
Evaluation identifies the most promising combinations of school-based Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) interventions for improving student fitness
Authors: Sridharshi Hewawitharana, Gail Woodward-Lopez, Punam Ohri-Vachaspati, Francesco Acciai, Hannah R. Thompson, Wendi Gosliner
Monday, November 7, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.; oral presentation -
Reductions in public health obesity prevention interventions due to COVID-19 disproportionately affect neighborhoods with pre-existing health inequities
Authors: Erin E Esaryk, Carolyn D Rider, Gail Woodward-Lopez
Tuesday, November 8, Session 8; 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.; poster presentation -
A novel approach to measuring potential for health equity impact in community health interventions
Authors: Janice Kao, Gail Woodward-Lopez, Christina Becker, Carolyn Rider, Erin Esaryk, Evan Talmage
Tuesday, November 8, Session 7; 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.; poster presentation
WIC:
-
Assessing changes associated with expanding the WIC Cash-Value Benefit for the purchase of fruits and vegetables among children age 1 to 5 years: a longitudinal study
Authors: Marisa Tsai, Christopher Anderson, Catherine Martinez, Martha Meza, Lauren Au, Lorrene Ritchie, Shannon Whaley
Tuesday, November 8, 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.; oral presentation
Other:
-
Impact of an arts-based public health literacy program delivered online to high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Hannah Thompson, Jackie Mendelson, Maya Zamek, Gabriel Cortez, Dean Schillinger
Wednesday, November 9, 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.; oral presentation