A 2024 study identified Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP, shopper and farmers' market staff perceptions of the California Fruit and Vegetable Electronic Benefit Transfer Pilot Project. This effort, spearheaded by the California Department of Social Services, tested a new model for the California Nutrition Incentive Program, or CNIP, California's longer-running supplemental benefit program that provides matching dollars to SNAP participants to purchase fruits and vegetables at farmers' markets. The Pilot Project differed from the traditional CNIP dollar-for-dollar incentive match model in several ways, including offering a $60 monthly supplemental benefit that could be redeemed in a single shopping trip, rather than weekly increments, and the ability to spend the supplemental benefit on any SNAP-eligible item at any retail location, rather than solely on fruits and vegetables at the farmers' market, as required by CNIP. Focus groups with 40 SNAP shoppers and 17 farmers' market staff indicated that shoppers appreciated the ability to earn the full monthly benefit during a single shopping trip and the option to spend it on any SNAP-eligible item at any retailer. Most shoppers reported spending the additional benefit at grocery stores rather than farmers' markets, validating staff concerns about SNAP shoppers not spending their supplemental benefit dollars at farmers' markets. Challenges included difficulties understanding the pilot program and longer lines at farmers' markets to access the benefits. The study, funded by the Ecology Center and the California Department of Social Services, was published October 2024 in the journal Nutrients by NPI co-authors Ron Strochlic, Sridharshi Hewawitharana and Wendi Gosliner and former NPI team member Carolyn Chelius.
A recently published study reveals that California students appreciate Universal School Meals, reporting that having meals free of charge for all students made school meals more accessible, reduced stigma, improved food security, and streamlined the process for receiving meals. Prompted by the rise in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020-2022 the USDA implemented an unprecedented change allowing schools to serve meals free of charge to all students regardless of household income. For many students, school meals are their primary source of nutritious food. This qualitative study, conducted in 9 different regions in California, interviewed 67 middle and high school students, representative of the demographic profile of students in the state, about their experiences with Universal School Meals during the pandemic. Students expressed widespread appreciation for the program and a desire for its continuation. Students of different backgrounds agreed that the program supported food security by relieving the financial burden on families during an economically hard time. This was achieved through easier access to school meals by eliminating income barriers and the eligibility process. Universal School Meals also reduced the stigma faced by those who receive free or reduced-price school meals by including everyone in the program. There is still room for improvement, as students expressed concern about the quality and quantity of food served during the pandemic and perceived greater food waste. California was the first state to commit to continuing Universal School Meals beyond the 2021-2022 school year. This study was published online in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior co-authored by Dania Orta-Aleman, Monica Zuercher, Kassandra Bacon, Carolyn Chelius, Christina Hecht, Ken Hecht, Lorrene Ritchie, and Wendi Gosliner of the Nutrition Policy Institute and Juliana Cohen of Merrimack College. This research was funded by California General Fund SB 170.
A new video highlights Nutrition Policy Institute's partnership with Impact Justice, ChangeLab Solutions, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to launch "Harvest of the Month," a program which brings fresh, California-grown produce into carceral institutions around California to improve the diets of the residents, as well as improve their overall health and well-being. A national 2020 study shows that 63% of incarcerated individuals rarely or never have fresh vegetables and 55% rarely or never have fresh fruit. In September, residents at three CDRC correctional facilities in Northern California received fresh pears grown locally in Sacramento County through the new program. One incarcerated individual shares in the video, “This is the best pear I have ever eaten, it was so good, so I ate all of it.” CDCR is responsible for feeding over 100,000 incarcerated individuals and they are the single largest purchaser of food in the state. The new program aligns with two state policies that supporting institutional procurement of local produce, including California Assembly Bill 778. CDRC aims to expand the program to all 33 of its facilities across the state by October 2025. Learn more about the new program in this news story.
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.”
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.