Lorrene Ritchie, director and cooperative extension specialist of the UC ANR Nutrition Policy Institute, was quoted in an April 16, 2020 article on YubaNet.com titled "Urban ag supplies fresh fruits and vegetables, part of a healthy diet". The article discusses the importance of healthy eating during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlights efforts to ensure local residents have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Dr. Ritchie is quoted, “Eating fruits and vegetables is known to benefit our overall health and help our immune system. At a time when we need to be especially vigilant about staying healthy, eating healthy is essential.” The article also featured timely information on how to access local food resources from University of California Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists. YubaNet.com covers local news for readers in Nevada City, Grass Valley, and Truckee – the three biggest towns in Nevada County, California.
Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) researchers' latest study of 680 licensed child care providers across California evaluating adherence to California's 2010 Healthy Beverages in Child Care Act (CA AB2084) suggests that nearly half were adherent to the policy in 2016, an increase from about one quarter shortly after the policy was implemented in 2012. The study was published in Preventing Chronic Disease. California's AB2084 policy requires licensed child care sites to (1) serve only lowfat or nonfat milk to children two years of age or older, (2) limit juice to not more than one serving per day of 100-percent juice, (3) serve no beverages with added sweeteners, either natural or artificial, and (4) make clean and safe drinking water readily available and accessible for consumption throughout the day. These requirements align with the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) nutrition standards. Providers participating in CACFP and child care centers were found to be more compliant than those not participating in CACFP and family child care homes, respectively. In 2016, providers were most adherent to the sugar-sweetened beverages (97%) and 100% juice (91%) requirements, while fewer were adherent to the requirements on drinking water (77%) and milk (65%). To support increased adherence to the beverage policy, NPI collaborated with Abbey Alkon from the UC San Francisco School of Nursing and California Childcare Health Program to develop a free online training in English and Spanish for California child care providers, funded by the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The statewide child care study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Healthy Eating Research Program, and was conducted in collaboration with Elyse Homel Vitale of the Child Care Food Program Roundtable (previously with California Food Policy Advocates) and Sallie Yoshida of Social Policy Research Associates (previously with Sarah Samuels Center for Public Health Research & Evaluation).
Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) researchers' latest study on the quality of beverages, meals and snacks served to young children in licensed child care settings in California suggests sites that participate in the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) are more likely to provide nutritious foods and beverages compared to sites that do not participate in CACFP. The study is available online ahead of print in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. The CACFP is a program of the United States Department of Agriculture that reimburses child care institutions and family child care home providers for providing nutritious meals and snacks to the children in their care aged birth up to twelve years old. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Healthy Eating Research Program, and was conducted in collaboration with Elyse Homel Vitale of the Child Care Food Program Roundtable (previously with California Food Policy Advocates at the time of the study) and Sallie Yoshida of Social Policy Research Associates (previously with Sarah Samuels Center for Public Health Research & Evaluation.
The UC ANR Nutrition Policy Institute welcomed Sibani Michael Bose to our team on April 6, 2020 to serve as our new Chief Business Officer. Bose is a higher education administrator who spent 13 years working at the University of California, Berkeley after obtaining her bachelor's degree there. She comes to us very skilled in contracts and grants administration as well as human resources management and strategic planning. Bose relocated from the Los Angeles region where she was Business Manager at the City of Hope National Medical Center. She brings extensive experience working with academics, staff, and students.
Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) and UC Berkeley School of Public Health researchers published a new study in partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) on the impact of a multi-component intervention to increase students' lunch participation in SFUSD public middle and high schools. The study, titled "The Impact of a Multipronged Intervention to Increase School Lunch Participation among Secondary School Students in an Urban Public School District" was published in Childhood Obesity by UC Berkeley researchers Hannah Thompson and Kristine Madsen; NPI's Wendi Gosliner and Lorrene Ritchie; UC Berkeley doctoral alumna Annie Reed; and SFUSD's Orla O'Keefe and Kate Wobbekind. Data are from a 3-year quasi-randomized study among 24 secondary schools, half of which received an intervention including cafeteria redesign, additional school lunch points-of-sale (mobile carts and vending machines), and teacher education. This research was funded by USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program.