University of California researchers have found that campus food pantries may help improve college students' overall well-being, including mental and physical health and sleep sufficiency, especially for those experiencing food insecurity. Study results from a 2019 online survey of 1,855 University of California students that used their campus food pantries showed that students who visited their campus food pantry more frequently reported improved perceived health, improved mental health (fewer depressive symptoms), and improved sleep sufficiency. The study was published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior by principal investigator Suzanna Martinez from the UC San Francisco Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, along with co-authors Gwen Chodur from UC Davis, Erin Esaryk from UCSF and the UC Nutrition Policy Institute, Sevan Kaladjian from UC Irvine Center for Educational Partnerships, Lorrene Ritchie from the UC NPI, and Michael Grandner from the University of Arizona Department of Psychiatry. The study was funded by the state legislature to the University of California Basic Needs Initiative.

Ensuring college students have access to nutritious and affordable food is critical to support their health and academic success. However, rates of food insecurity amongst college students—on average 43%—is three times higher than adults in the US. University of California researchers have identified ways to support college students in gaining access to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—known as CalFresh in California­—including having county staff present on college campuses to support SNAP enrollment and ensuring campus staff have strong relationships with county SNAP agencies. Researchers also identified inconsistent student SNAP eligibility information and procedures across county offices as a common barrier for students to access SNAP benefits. These themes were identified through in-depth interviews with twenty-one key informants, including staff from the UC on-campus Basic Needs Centers, campus financial aid offices, county agencies, and food banks. The findings were published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior by Erin Esaryk and Lorrene Ritchie of the UC Nutrition Policy Institute, Laurel Moffat of Washington State University Extension, and principal investigator Suzanna Martinez of UC San Francisco Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. The study was funded by California State Legislature to the UC system for addressing students' basic needs as part of the UC Basic Needs Initiative.

Previous research conducted by the University of California (UC) Nutrition Policy Institute identified that, in 2016, 44 percent of undergraduate and 26 percent of graduate students at the UC reported having experienced food insecurity; in addition, 5 percent of students reported experiencing homelessness at some point during their enrollment. A new study published in the American Journal of Health Promotion by NPI, UC San Francisco, and Washington State University researchers explores how UC students define basic needs and reports on their experiences of housing insecurity, and food insecurity within the context of housing insecurity. Fifty-eight UC undergraduate and graduate students were recruited from basic needs centers at five UC campuses to participate in researcher-led focus groups. Results showed that UC students define basic needs as more than minimal food and shelter, but also include mental health, well-being, hygiene and safety; they also reported that meeting basic needs was the joint responsibility of students and the university. Students reported multifaceted housing insecurity issues, said that affording rent is a priority that most often leads to experiencing food insecurity, and also that transportation was a key barrier to meeting their basic needs. Further, students with non-traditional characteristics, graduate students, and out-of-state students reported facing unique challenges in meeting basic needs. Limited financial aid, lack of financial aid guidance and unanticipated University fees were additional barriers reported by students to meeting basic needs. Students reported that additional university basic needs services, such as food pantries and other free food programs, were essential in supporting their basic needs. The findings demonstrate the need for multi-faceted basic needs programs that go beyond food and housing on college campuses. The study was led by Suzanna Martinez of UC San Francisco in collaboration with Erin Esaryk and Lorrene Ritchie of NPI, and Laurel Moffat of Washington State University. The study was funded by a grant from the UC Global Food Initiative. The full study is available online. 

The American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting and Expo is the largest yearly gathering of public health professionals. This year, the annual meeting is being held virtually October 24-28, 2020. Researchers from the University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Nutrition Policy Institute will be presenting their work on a variety of collaborative food and nutrition policy studies related to the child care food environment, school meals, the federal Supplemental Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and more. A full list of on-demand poster presentations and live oral presentations is below.

Child care food environment: 

• California childcare centers and homes in the federal child and adult care food program offer more nutritious foods to infants
  Presenters: Danielle Lee, Klara Gurzo, Lilly Nhan, Elyse Homel Vitale, Sallie Yoshida, Lorrene Ritchie
  Poster presentation
  
  
• Online training increases child care provider knowledge of healthy beverage policy and practices for young children
  Presenters: Kaela Plank, Danielle Lee, Abbey Alkon, Marisa Neelon, L. Karina Diaz Rios, Katherine Soule, Lorrene Ritchie
  Poster presentation

School meals: 

• Impact of a district-wide chocolate milk removal policy on students' milk selection and consumption 
  Presenters: Hannah Thompson, Lorrene Ritchie, Kristine Madsen, Esther Park, Wendi Gosliner
  Oral presentation, Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 8:15-8:30 AM PDT

WIC: 

• Families with children 1-5 years old: WIC program perspectives on nutrition education and food benefits
  Presenters: Marisa Tsai, Lorrene Ritchie, Shannon Whaley, Catherine Martinez, Martha Meza, Lauren Au, Hallie Randel-Schreiber, Susan Sabatier
  Oral presentation, Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 8:00-8:15 AM PDT
  
  
• Children on WIC followed through age 4 years: What are they eating?
  Presenters: Lorrene Ritchie, Lauren Au, Shannon Whaley, Christine Borger
  Oral presentation, Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 9:30-9:50 AM PDT
  
  
• Feeding beliefs and practices among low-income caregivers: Findings from year 4 of the WIC infant and toddler feeding practices study-2
  Presenters: Courtney Paolicelli, Christine Borger, Lorrene Ritchie, Shannon Whaley
  Oral presentation, Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 9:50-10:10 AM PDT

• Prevalence of overweight and obesity among children receiving WIC
  Presenters: Christine Borger, Shannon Whaley, Lorrene Ritchie
  Oral presentation, Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 10:10-10:30 AM PDT
  
  
• Longer participation in WIC is associated with healthier outcomes for children at age 4 years
  Presenters: Shannon Whaley, Christine Borger, Lauren Au, Lorrene Ritchie
  Oral presentation, Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 10:30-10:50 AM PDT

Other topics: 

• Exploring housing and food insecurity among California university students: A holistic and comprehensive definition of students' basic needs
  Presenters: Suzanna Martinez, Erin Esaryk, Laurel Moffat, Lorrene Ritchie
  Oral presentation, Tuesday, October 27, 12:00-12:15 PM PDT
  
  
• Healthy default beverages in kids' meals: Evaluating policy implementation and impact in California and Delaware
  Presenters: Allison Karpyn, Wendi Gosliner, Laura Lessard, Kathleen McCallops, Marisa Tsai, Tara Tracy, Phoebe Harpainter, Danielle Lee, Anna Martin, Lorrene Ritchie, Gail Woodward-Lopez
  Oral presentation, Tuesday, October 27, 4:45-5:00 PM PDT
  
  
• Perceived produce availability and child fruit and vegetable intake: The healthy communities study
  Presenters: Laurel Moffat, Lorrene Ritchie, Wendi Gosliner, Kaela Plank, Lauren Au
  Oral presentation, Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 10:15-10:30 AM PDT
  
  
• Limited progress found in healthy checkout among food stores in economically disadvantaged California neighborhoods, 2011-2017
  Presenters: Wendi Gosliner, Sriddharshi Hewawitharana, Janice Kao, Sadie Costello, Gail Woodward-Lopez
  Poster presentation
  
  
• A replication study of school-based SNAP-ed programmatic efforts to address student nutrition and physical activity outcomes
  Presenters: John Pugliese, Lauren Whetstone, Sridharshi Hewawitharana, Gail Woodward-Lopez
  Poster presentation