- Author: Brianna Aguayo Villalon
- Editor: Danielle Lee
Nutrition Policy Institute researchers will present at the American Public Health Association 2023 Annual Meeting & Expo . The conference brings in over 1,000 sessions, centered on creating a healthier nation by working together to overcome social and ethical challenges. NPI researchers Wendi Gosliner, Lorrene Ritchie, Christina Hecht, Kenneth Hecht and Monica Zuercher co-author two poster sessions. The first is presented by Leah Chapman from Merrimack College titled, “Universal free school meals during the pandemic: A qualitative analysis of parent opinions from California and Maine” on November 13 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The second is presented by Deborah Olarte from Merrimack College on November 13 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. titled, “School food authorities' perceptions of the barriers to student participation in universal school meals during the 2021-2022 school year: A mixed-methods study.” The conference will take place in Atlanta, Georgia from November 12-15 with live virtual options for attendees.
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 recent study finds that comprehensive school-based Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education, also known as SNAP-Ed, interventions focused on improving wellness policies and increasing physical activity opportunities are associated with better student fitness. Researchers identified predominant combinations of school-based, physical activity-focused SNAP-Ed interventions and then looked at how they affected student fitness. Study data included over 442,000 fifth and seventh-grade students attending nearly 4,300 public schools in California communities with low-income in 2016-2017. Students in schools with SNAP-Ed interventions combining policy changes and improved physical activity opportunities had better cardiorespiratory fitness, as measured by VO2 max. On average, these students had 1.17 mL/kg/min greater VO2max than students at schools without interventions. They also had greater VO2 max compared to students in schools with any other type of intervention combination. This study suggests that focusing on both wellness policy changes and increased physical activity opportunities may have a synergistic effect and may warrant prioritization in SNAP-Ed program planning and implementation. The study, published in Preventive Medicine, was conducted by Nutrition Policy Institute researchers Sridharshi Hewawitharana, Gail Woodward-Lopez, Hannah Thompson, and Wendi Gosliner; Arizona State University researchers Punam Ohri-Vachaspati and Francesco Acciai; and California Department of Public Health researcher John Pugliese.
Pesticides, phthalates, bisphenol-A, commonly known as BPA, and plasticizers are chemicals commonly used in the food supply chain that can have negative health consequences for people regularly exposed to them. A recent study found that school meals had low levels of phthalates and no detectable levels of BPA. However, the study also found that pre-packaged school meals may have high levels of the plasticizer Diethylhexyl adipate, commonly known as DEHA and an often-used substitute for BPA. While these chemical levels are similar to those found in many other foods children typically consume, it is concerning given the limited research on the health impact of DEHA, especially on children who are more vulnerable to the negative health impacts of certain chemicals. Although pesticides were detected in over half of the school meal produce items and a quarter of entrées sampled, nearly all were below the average levels detected by the US Department of Agriculture's Pesticide Data Program. Researchers analyzed the presence of these chemicals in 50 school meal samples made on-site from scratch or pre-packaged and reheated, which were collected between 2019 to 2021 in eight New England schools serving kindergarten through eighth-grade students. The study authors recommend additional studies to investigate the impact of DEHA on children's health and pesticides in school foods, additional funding for schools to prepare food on-site to reduce students' exposure to plasticizers, and for schools to minimize packaging for meals made on-site with plastic. Study results were published in the journal Environmental Research by Juliana Cohen, Scott Richardson, William March and Russ Hauser from Merrimack College and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Wendi Gosliner from the Nutrition Policy Institute at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. This study was funded by a grant from the Shah Family Foundation.
Eligible working families with low income that have children can receive the earned income tax credit, commonly known as the EITC, annually in the form of a lump-sum federal tax refund averaging about $2,500. Little was known about how families spend their EITC funds and the mechanisms for how this credit supports improved health outcomes. University of California researchers conducted a large survey of nearly 250 California families that received the EITC in 2020-2021. Families spent their refunds on basic needs. Half of the families surveyed reported spending their EITC refund on bills, debt or housing, over a third reported spending it on transportation and only 3% reported spending it on healthcare costs. Family recipients that were thirty years old and older were more likely to spend their EITC refund on bills and paying down debt than younger households. Researchers suggested the EITC may support improved healthy by providing families with more money to spend on nutrition and healthcare and may lower family stress by generally increasing household resources. Findings were published in the journal BMC Public Health by Rita Hamad and Kaitlyn Jackson from the University of California, San Francisco, Joseph Yeb from Tufts University, Wendi Gosliner from the Nutrition Policy Institute at the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Lia Fernald from UC Berkeley. This project is part of the Assessing California Communities' Experiences with Safety Net Supports (ACCESS) study which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Tipping Point Foundation, the UC Office of the President, and the Berkeley Population Center at UC Berkeley.