A new research brief developed by the Nutrition Policy Institute highlights promising school-based CalFresh Healthy Living—California's SNAP-Ed program—physical activity interventions. The study used latent class analysis to describe the predominant combinations of CFHL physical activity interventions implemented in California public schools in partnership with local health departments. Using Fitnessgram data from over 440,000 students in nearly 4,300 schools, the researchers assessed whether intervention combinations were associated with student cardiorespiratory fitness, as measured by V02 max. The study found that students in schools with CFHL interventions focused on establishing or improving wellness policies and increasing opportunities for physical activity had better cardiorespiratory fitness than students in schools without CFHL interventions or in schools with other types of CFHL intervention combinations. The peer-reviewed study was authored by Sridharshi Hewawitharana, Gail Woodward-Lopez, and Wendi Gosliner from the Nutrition Policy Institute, Punam Ohri-Vachaspati and Francesco Acciai from Arizona State University, and John Pugliese from the California Department of Public Health. The research brief was created by NPI's CalFresh Healthy Living Evaluation Unit, including: Summer Cortez, Reka Vasicsek, Miranda Westfall, and Sridharshi Hewawitharana.
A new research brief developed by the Nutrition Policy Institute outlines the results and implications of the 2023 study: “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education reductions during COVID-19 may have exacerbated health inequities.” The study examined changes in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education programming by California's local health departments during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, when schools and other institutions closed their doors in response to the COVID-19 emergency, the impact on public health programs like SNAP-Ed was immediate and large. As the pandemic continued, California's local health departments reported numerous challenges, including the diversion of staff, funding and other resources from programs like SNAP-Ed to emergency response. NPI researchers documented dramatic reductions in the reach and dose of local health department SNAP-Ed programming during the early stages of the pandemic. Reductions disproportionately impacted disadvantaged communities, including those with higher poverty, higher proportions of Black and Latino residents and less healthy neighborhood conditions. Disproportionately reduced access to important health programs may have worsened health disparities in diet and physical activity-related chronic diseases, as well as increasing susceptibility to COVID-19. This study demonstrates the importance of an equity-centered approach to promoting healthy eating and active living, even—or perhaps especially—during public health emergencies. The peer-reviewed study was authored by NPI researchers Gail Woodward-Lopez, Erin Esaryk, Sridharshi Hewawitharana, Janice Kao, Evan Talmage and Carolyn Rider. The research brief was created by NPI's CalFresh Healthy Living Evaluation Unit, including: Carolyn Rider, Miranda Westfall, Reka Vasicsek and Summer Cortez.
The School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley was recently granted candidacy for accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics for their new Berkeley Public Health Dietetic Internship program. The program aims to create a new public health dietetic internship model that will prepare students to tackle adaptive changes from clinic to the community and from qualitative and quantitative to policy and food systems. The program is a two-year internship that currently accepts 10 interns annually during the fall who are admitted to the Master's in Public Health Nutrition at UC Berkeley. Students must have completed a Didactic Program in Dietetics to apply. The Nutrition Policy Institute will be a host organization for the program, and several NPI researchers—Lorrene Ritchie, Wendi Gosliner, Miranda Westfall, Suzanne Rauzon and Danielle Lee—serve on the program's advisory board. Applications to join the inaugural 2024 cohort are due December 4, 2023, at 8:59pm PST. Potential students are encouraged to attend the upcoming virtual and in-person open house informational sessions on November 14 and 16, 2023. For further questions, contact publichealthdi@berkeley.edu.
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.
- Author: Katherine Lanca
- Editor: Danielle L. Lee
- Editor: Lorrene Ritchie
The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources is calling academics, UC ANR staff, and students to attend the kickoff of their 2025-2040 strategic visioning process at the UC ANR Statewide Conference on April 24-27, 2023 in Fresno, California. Topics of the conference include: healthy food systems, healthy environments, healthy communities, and healthy Californians. Nutrition Policy Institute researchers will attend the conference to share current challenges, best practices, and future opportunities pertaining to healthy food access and nutrition policy in California and nationally. NPI team members will also lead sessions on professional development and best research practices. In addition to presenting, NPI will have an interactive table in the UC ANR Resources Room where NPI team members can answer attendees' questions about NPI and the CalFresh Health Living Evaluation Unit. A list of the poster presentations and sessions led by NPI researchers is found below.
Community Nutrition
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Sharing Successes and Collaborations in Community Nutrition and Health
Session: Measuring outcomes of CalFresh Healthy Living: Collaborating to enhance evaluation rigor and apply an equity framework
Presenters: Kaela Plank, Miranda Westfall, and Barbara MkNelly
Monday, April 24, 2023, 11:00 a.m.- 12 p.m.
Drinking Water
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Enabling Consumption of Water: the Example of Schools
Session: What's New in the World of Water?
Presenter: Christina Hecht
Tuesday, April 25, 2023, 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Nutrition Security
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Research to Inform Policy: Nutrition Security and Health Equity
Session: Food Systems: Healthy Planet, Healthy People
Presenter: Lorrene Ritchie
Tuesday, April 25, 2023, 8:00 a.m.- 10:00 a.m.
Professional Development and Research Skills
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Wheel of your Career
Session: Food Systems: Healthy Planet, Healthy People
Presenter: Danielle Lee
Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
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From Science to Action: Tools and Techniques for Fact-Based Civic Engagement
Session: Strengthening Participatory Extension Approaches
Presenter: Christina Hecht
Thursday, April 27, 2023, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
School Food
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Universal School Meals in California: Challenges and Benefits Reported by Foodservice Directors and Parents
Poster: M-55
Presenter: Lorrene Ritchie
Monday, April 24, 2023, 6:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
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Method for Evaluating Food Packaging Waste in Schools: Waste Audit for Sustainable Transitions and Evaluations (WASTE)
Poster: T-30
Presenter: Danielle Lee
Tuesday, April 25, 2023, 6:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
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Highlighting the impact of multi-state research-to-policy efforts during COVID-19: understanding perspectives and utilization of WIC adaptations in California and beyond
Poster: M-64
Presenter: Lorrene Ritchie, Danielle Lee, and Marisa Tsai
Monday, April 24, 2023, 6:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
