Nutrition Policy Institute's senior researcher Wendi Gosliner was recently appointed as a workgroup member to the National Institutes of Health, Agriculture and Diet: Value Added for Nutrition, Translation and Adaptation in a Global Ecology, also known as the ADVANTAGE Project. The ADVANTAGE project is an effort to better understand the intersection of food systems, diet, nutrition, and health in a changing environment by addressing how the current realities of climate/environmental change are affecting dietary choices, patterns, and relevant aspects of the food system, as well as implications for specific public health outcomes of interest. This effort seeks to determine how an ecological approach can be applied to assess the nature and impact of these relationships and how to best translate the evidence generated to promote health and prevent disease. Gosliner is a member of the ADVANTAGE Working Group 5, tasked to focus on translation and implementation to support context-specific, equitable, safe and efficacious interventions, dietary guidance and standards of care in a changing environment. Working Group 5 conducted a virtual workshop on Friday, June 12, 2023, where Gosliner and collaborator Jenn Otten from the University of Washington hosted a talk and discussion titled “A Conversation about Dissemination and Translation.” The recording from their presentation is available online and their talk begins at 1:46:30.
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.
Virtually all San Diego County CalFresh participants (known as SNAP nationwide) have been receiving monthly text messages in multiple languages encouraging them to eat more fruits and vegetables and directing them to a dedicated multilingual website with more information. The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency may be the first SNAP administering agency in the US to use text messages to share nutrition information and promote a healthy diet. This effort began in 2020 in partnership with the University of California, Nutrition Policy Institute and the UC San Diego Center for Community Health. Building on previous survey results, UC researchers conducted focus groups in English and Spanish with text message recipients to elicit their experience of the messages. CalFresh participants reported overwhelmingly positive perceptions of the effort, including increased fruit and vegetable intake, trying unfamiliar produce items, improved perceptions of CalFresh, and feelings that the agency cares about their health and well-being. Participants want the effort to continue with more frequent messages. Text messaging participants is a relatively low-cost approach that SNAP agencies can use to encourage diet improvement, optimization of food dollars, and to enhance perceptions of and experiences with SNAP. Focus group results were published in the journal Nutrients by Celeste Felix, Ron Strochlic, and Wendi Gosliner from the Nutrition Policy Institute, Blanca Melendrez and Shanna Wright from the UC San Diego Center for Community Health, and Hao Teng from Teachers College, Colombia University.
- Author: Katherine Lanca
- Editor: Danielle L. Lee
- Editor: Wendi Gosliner
The United States responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by expanding a variety of social safety net programs. Policy responses across the U.S. included workplace protections, workers compensation, and a provision of childcare for essential workers. However, families' experiences with the pandemic-related changes to safety net programs are still not well explored. University of California researchers conducted a study to understand take up, utilization, and experiences with social safety net programs among families with young children in California during COVID-19. Thirty four California parents and caregivers of young children were interviewed from August 2020 to April 2021. Interviewees reported experiencing some benefits of increased safety net support early in the pandemic, including improved food security and counseling support for those studying at community colleges. But generally, parents reported being overwhelmed and stressed and that insufficient childcare and housing instability were not addressed by the social safety net system. Study findings suggest that policy responses carry potential to alleviate economic-related stressors, like food insecurity and also highlight a critical need to strengthen support for families. This study was conducted by the Assessing California Communities' Experiences with Safety Net Supports Survey (ACCESS) study team, including: Alyssa Mooney, Kaitlyn Jackson, Rita Hamad, and Mekhala Hoskote from the UC San Francisco, Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, Lia C.H. Fernald from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and Wendi Gosliner from the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, Nutrition Policy Institute. This research was published in BioMed Central Public Health and supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
- Author: Katherine Lanca
- Editor: Danielle L. Lee
- Editor: Wendi Gosliner
The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed new nutritional standards to improve the healthfulness of child nutrition programs, which includes school meals. The new rule sets strict sodium targets and the first ever restriction on added sugars. Among many school cafeteria foods, chocolate milk, which has almost half of a child's daily recommended intake of added sugars in one carton, is potentially on the chopping block. The LAist edition of AirTalk, hosted by Austin Cross, invited Dr. Wendi Gosliner, senior researcher with the Nutrition Policy Institute, to discuss the significance of the USDA's latest proposal for school nutrition standards. The podcast conversation centers around a central question: “How do we make sure [school] meals appeal to students while meeting their nutritional needs?” Gosliner acknowledged that initial pushback of the proposal is expected, citing pushback on the implementation of the 2012 Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act as an example. But she reminded listeners that new nutrition standards require a learning curve—they teach students what to get used to. She described how thoughtful removal of cafeteria staples, like chocolate milk, may help students part ways with familiar school foods and can offer a long term investment in student health. She also highlighted California's Universal School Meals program as a model for the nation with its bold investments. “School meals have the potential to be both tasty and nutritious,” said Gosliner. The LAist “AirTalk” episode is titled “USDA Considers Banning One Of The Best Parts Of School Lunch: Chocolate Milk” and can be found on the KPCC LAist website; scroll past the episodes listed in order of airing to find the May 19, 2023 episode.