A new research brief developed by the Nutrition Policy Institute details findings from an evaluation of the California Nutrition Incentive Program, a program that provides CalFresh shoppers with a dollar-for-dollar match when purchasing California-grown produce at participating farmers markets and other retail outlets. In this evaluation, NPI researchers conducted surveys and interviews with a convenience sample of CalFresh shoppers and food store managers. Overall, CalFresh shoppers reported overwhelmingly positive experiences using CNIP and store managers also found the program to be beneficial. While the results showed that CNIP utilization did not have statistically significant impacts on quantitative measures of shoppers' produce intake or food security, shoppers did report that CNIP influenced the kinds of fruits and vegetables they bought and also attributed being able to buy more fruits and vegetables to this program. CalFresh shoppers wanted CNIP to continue and supported it expanding to other retail outlets.
Access to high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables in California state prisons is poor, which has negative impacts on incarcerated peoples' health and well-being. Nutrition Policy Institute and collaborators from Impact Justice and ChangeLab Solutions shared about their Farm to Corrections California project at the Northeast Farm to Institution Summit 2023. The project aims to improve access to fresh produce during and after incarceration in California. Speaker shared results from interviews with formerly incarcerated individuals, correction facility staff, policymakers, growers, and farm-to-corrections advocates as well as scans of local procurement preference policies and correction facility food purchasing records. They described efforts to conduct a Harvest of the Month pilot project and implementation of nutrition education workshops for returning citizens and other justice-impacted individuals. Speakers included Heile Gantan from Impact Justice, Carolyn Chelius from the Nutrition Policy Institute, and Vincent Young from ChangeLab Solutions. The Farm-to-Corrections California virtual session was on April 18, 2023 from 11:30-12:30 p.m. PDT. The Northeast Farm to Institution Summit 2023 tookplace virtually April 18-20 and in person in Providence, Rhode Island April 27-28, 2023.
- Author: Danielle L. Lee
- Editor: Ron Strochlic
The annual CalFresh Forum, hosted by Nourish California in partnership with the California Department of Social Services, brings together key stakeholders from across California to acknowledge outstanding work, identify opportunities, and discuss strategies to improve the reach and impact of CalFresh. Nutrition Policy Institute researchers Wendi Gosliner, Celeste Felix and Ron Strochlic will have a virtual booth at the Forum to highlight the successful CalFresh Text Messaging pilot project. From September 2020 to March 2021, over 172,000 San Diego CalFresh participants received text messages in English or Spanish from CDSS including a link directing recipients to a website with information on selecting, storing and preparing California-grown fruits and vegetables; health benefits; tips to reduce food waste; and recipes – including TikTok videos. The project was made possible in partnership with the UC San Diego Center for Community Health and the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, which administers CalFresh in the county. The CalFresh Forum will be hosted in-person and virtually February 15-16, 2023 at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena and the Whova Virtual Platform.
Nutrition Policy Institute researcher Wendi Gosliner presents virtually at the 2021 American Public Health Association 2021 Annual Meeting and Expo October 24-27. Gosliner and NPI co-authors Ron Strochlic and Marisa Tsai present a virtual talk on October 26 titled 'Increasing fresh local produce in prisons: Promising practices to improve health, foster food justice, and support local food systems'. Gosliner presents an in-person talk with NPI co-authors Celeste Felix, Strochlic and Tsai on October 27 titled ‘Texting monthly nutrition messages to all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants in San Diego county, California: Promising pilot study results'. Gosliner is also co-author of a talk presented by Mekhala Hoskote of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health titled ‘“Hidden pandemic”: Delays in healthcare among low-income families in California during the COVID-19 pandemic' on October 22. The 2021 APHA meeting theme is 'Creating the Healthiest Nation: Strengthening Social Connectedness', and is a hybrid conference allowing attendees to participate online or in-person in Denver, Colorado.
Nutrition Policy Institute's Wendi Gosliner was awarded a $439,345 California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Specialty Crop Block Grant to partner with Impact Justice and ChangeLab Solutions to increase demand for California-grown fruits, vegetables and nuts in California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) state prisons. The CDCR is the largest California state food purchaser, with over $150 million in purchases annually. The project will educate CDCR stakeholders about the benefits of procuring and serving more California grown specialty crops; work with stakeholders to develop policy and systems-level changes to promote procurement of California grown specialty crops; and work with formerly incarcerated individuals to understand opportunities and barriers to increasing consumption of California grown specialty crops in CDCR facilities and to provide them with nutrition education. The project broadly will reach 120,000 incarcerated people. The two-year project begins November 2020.