- 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:
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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:
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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
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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
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.
The Nutrition Policy Institute welcomed Richard Pulvera to the team on July 6, 2022. Richard is an NPI research data analyst who primarily works on evaluation and reporting projects for CalFresh Healthy Living in partnership with the California Department of Public Health. Richard completed his MPH in Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health in 2022. He also earned his Bachelor's degrees in Public Health and Molecular & Cell Biology at UC Berkeley in 2019. His previous research experiences broadly focused on the impact of safety net and economic support programs, youth nutrition programs, and policies for chronic disease prevention. Richard also has previous experience in higher education outreach and retention, focusing on students from marginalized backgrounds.
- Editor: Danielle L. Lee
- Author: Gail Woodward-Lopez
A position is available at the University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI), Oakland, Calif. for Director of the NPI CalFresh Healthy Living Evaluation Unit. This position directs the work under contract with the California Department of Public Health to evaluate and inform the SNAP-Ed efforts of local health departments in California. The Director of the NPI-CFHL Evaluation unit provides strategic leadership and expertise on program development, research and evaluation activities to inform and improve policies and practices related to nutrition and physical activity behaviors and obesity prevention primarily in California. This position is expected to lead and oversee a complex, multi-component, and multi-million-dollar state-wide evaluation of a SNAP-Ed program with an impact on the national program, play a leadership role on additional regional, state and national research and evaluation programs as needed, and facilitate and develop new funding opportunities and partnerships. This position also provides leadership for future proposals and strategic planning for NPI with impact at the regional, state and national levels. Additional duties include budget development and management, management of project deliverables, and priority setting. Applications are due by Monday, July 18, 2022.
- Editor: Danielle L. Lee
- Author: Kaela Plank
- Editor: Lorrene Ritchie
- Contributor: Gail Woodward-Lopez
The Nutrition Policy Institute's CalFresh Healthy Living evaluation team analyzed data from a stratified, random sample of 190 CalFresh Healthy Living-eligible school districts in California to better understand equitable school meal distribution and changes in meal participation during COVID-19 school closures. Researchers found total school meals served decreased by a median of 46% between May 2019 and May 2020. While districts did a commendable job providing information and meals to families during school closures, there were gaps in communication about school meal eligibility requirements and menus. Additionally, while districts placed more school meal distribution sites in lower-income areas, the number of school meal distribution sites was not proportionate to the size of the population in those areas. The study was published in Preventive Medicine Reports. Researchers offer actionable steps and recommendations in an accompanying research brief for how programs like CalFresh Healthy Living can better support schools and provide equitable meal access during emergency school closures. The study and research brief are timely and important because emergency school closures will likely occur in the future as communities cope with floods, fires and other natural disasters. This work was conducted under contract with the California Department of Public Health with funding from the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed).