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: 

• 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: 

• 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

• 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: 

• 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: 

• 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: 

• 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 conducted an evaluation of the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP), which provides CalFresh (the California division of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) participants with dollar-for-dollar incentives for the purchase of California-grown fruits and vegetables (FV). The study explored FV purchases, FV intake, and food security among CalFresh shoppers at farmers markets not participating in CNIP, farmers markets offering $10 and $20 maximum matching incentives, and nearby supermarkets not offering incentives. Their findings indicate that higher CNIP maximum incentive levels are associated with greater odds of participants purchasing fruits and vegetables at farmers markets. While the researchers found no significant difference in overall food security between shoppers at farmers markets offering different maximum incentive levels, each additional incentive dollar received was associated with reduced odds of food insecurity. Although incentives did not lead to a quantitatively measurable change in produce consumption, participants did self-report a perceived increase in produce consumption and were able to purchase a wider variety of FV and support their local communities and growers. Most shoppers reported that CNIP is important in their decision to shop at farmers markets and expressed high levels of satisfaction with CNIP as well as a desire to see the program expand. Findings were published in the journal Nutrients in June 2022. The study was conducted by researchers Wendi Gosliner, Sridharshi Hewawitharana, Ron Strochlic, Celeste Felix, and Caroline Long from the Nutrition Policy Institute, University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. It was funded by California Department of Food and Agriculture award number 17-0212-005-SF.

The Nutrition Policy Institute welcomed Caroline Long to the team on October 14, 2021 as a project policy analyst. Long graduated in May 2021 from UC Berkeley with a master in public health nutrition and a graduate certificate in food systems. Long will work with Wendi Gosliner on NPI projects related to the California Nutrition Incentive Program and the Healthy Stores Refrigeration Grant Program.