Over 38,000 participants in the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, commonly known as WIC, completed a satisfaction survey in summer of 2023. Conducted across 21 participating WIC state agencies in all US Department of Agriculture administrative regions, the survey showed high satisfaction with the WIC program and that participants feel respected, valued and included by WIC staff. The hybrid WIC services introduced during the pandemic were successful, with two-in-three using in-person services, over half using remote services and nearly all finding it is easy to schedule appointments. The top reasons for WIC participation were the fruits and vegetables in the WIC food package followed by other foods and the education and support from WIC staff. Participants expressed interest in using WIC benefits at farmers markets and requested expanded fruit and vegetable options in states that don't authorize canned or frozen options. The survey illuminated challenges participants experience when shopping for WIC foods, reasons for not buying all their WIC foods, and their desire for expanded shopping options. Results align with the recently finalized WIC food package changes. Findings are available in the report “2023 WIC Multi-State Participant Satisfaction Survey” published online on April 9, 2024. The survey was also cited in an article in The New York Times, "Food Aid Program for Mothers and Children Will Provide More Fruits and Vegetables" and another article in NBC News, "Low-income families have more to spend on fruit and veggies thanks to new WIC rule," both published on April 9, 2024. The project was conducted by Lorrene Ritchie, Danielle Lee, Celeste Felix, Ken Hecht and Hannah Thompson from the Nutrition Policy Institute, Loan Kim, Theresa Tran, Claire Burton and Amanda Kiang from Pepperdine University and Georgia Machell from the National WIC Association. The project was funded by the National WIC Association through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Wendi Gosliner from the Nutrition Policy Institute discussed efforts to enhance population health and nutrition, focusing on eliminating disparities and improving federal food programs in a recent If I Could Change One Thing health policy podcast episode. Highlighting policy amendments during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gosliner emphasized the impact on food access, particularly for SNAP, WIC, school meal programs, and expansion of the Child Tax Credit. Stressing the importance of tackling food insecurity and reducing waste, she called for comprehensive interventions in federal nutrition programs. “When we think about growing food, and all of the inputs that are needed to grow food—the energy, the water, the soil, the human labor, the money to harvest it and transport it— then it gets to us, we buy it, we store it, and then we often throw it away," said Gosliner. "The amount of resources that's wasted with each food item that is thrown away is immense. And then not only that, but food, when it's decomposing in landfills, creates methane, which is a greenhouse gas contributor all on its own. So, for so many reasons, having us throwing away a lot of food is incredibly costly.” Gosliner, NPI's director of food policy research and translation, shared insights with co-hosts James Romine and Rocio Flores in season eight, episode one of the podcast. The podcast is produced by the San Diego State University, School of Public Health. Listen online.
Nutrition Policy Institute collaborated with Impact Justice, ChangeLab Solutions and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to launch a first-in-the-nation ‘Farm to Corrections' Harvest of the Month pilot project bringing California-grown produce to incarcerated populations in California in three prisons. Several California state policies support the project, including AB-822 which provides price incentives for state agencies to purchase California-grown produce and AB-778 which requires that 60% of state agency's produce is purchased from within the state. The project, led by NPI's Wendi Gosliner, Ron Strochlic and Carolyn Chelius, produced a report summarizing the opportunities and challenges in bringing more California-grown produce to the state's prison system, a second report of promising farm-to-corrections practices from across the United States, as well as several trauma-informed nutrition education workshops across the state for formerly incarcerated individuals. The project was featured in several media outlets, including an article by FarmProgress on October 6, 2023, “'Farm to corrections' project feeds prisoners” and the My Ag Life podcast episode on October 6, 2023, 'Farm to Corrections' Project Benefits Incarcerated Individuals, Growers. The podcast recording featuring Carolyn's interview begins at 10:23. The article was also featured in the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources News & Events on September 28, 2023, “‘Farm to corrections' project provides fresh produce to people in prison, boosts California growers.”
A study, “Effectiveness of a School Drinking Water Promotion and Access Program for Overweight Prevention,” led by Dr. Anisha Patel from Stanford University, along with researchers from the University of California's Nutrition Policy Institute and UC San Francisco, finds that a school-based intervention to enable and promote tap water consumption can prevent overweight in 4th-grade students. The randomized controlled trial analyzed data collected from 1262 students at 18 low-income, ethnically diverse elementary schools in California. The Water First program included the installation of a water dispenser with cups in the cafeteria, and two water bottle filling stations in other high-traffic areas of each school, classroom lessons related to healthy beverage choice, and schoolwide water promotion over one school year. Researchers observed a 3.2 percentage point difference in the prevalence of overweight among students in intervention schools compared to those in schools that did not receive the intervention. National standards set by Healthy People call for a 2.3% reduction in childhood obesity by 2030. While Water First did not affect obesity prevalence, it prevented overweight—an important target for preventing the onset of obesity. The study is a significant addition to the evidence base on the importance of enabling the consumption of plain water given its finding that improving and promoting access to safe and appealing drinking water can prevent weight gain in children. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, will be featured in the September 2023 issue of Pediatrics and was published online on August 7, 2023. A short video of study findings is available in English and Spanish, and the study was featured in multiple media outlets including an August 7, 2023 news story in HealthDay, "Some Schools Respond to Child Obesity by Focusing on Water," an August 7, 2023 video in CBS News, "Getting kids to drink more water at school may prevent excess weight gain," an August 10, 2023 news story in CNN, "How water-bottle fill stations can impact children's health, according to a new study," and an August 10, 2023 article in Physicians Weekly, "School-based water promotion program associated with lower overweight prevalence." The Water First intervention materials are available online. Dr. Patel is a member of the National Drinking Water Alliance, which is coordinated by NPI.
During the pandemic, the United States Department of Agriculture temporarily offered free school meals every school day to all students at no charge, but this federal provision ended in June 2022. As a result, California became the first state to expand the universal meals program beginning in the 2022-2023 school year. Other states considering expansion of free school meals may be following current research on the impact of free school meals in California. The New York Times invited Monica Zuercher, a project scientist with the Nutrition Policy Institute, to share her knowledge of free school meals. Zuercher was featured in The New York Times for Kids article titled ‘What if every kid got a free lunch?' by Katherine Cusumano in which she spoke to research-proven benefits of free school meals, particularly better attendance rates and improved health outcomes. Research on states that operate a free school meal program illustrate benefits and feasibility of free school meals programs for other states to follow. The New York Times for Kids article ‘What if every kid got a free lunch?' was published in print on January 29, 2023. The Nutrition Policy Institute documents further resources, research, and publications on School Meals for All on the Nutrition Policy Institute website Resources tab.