Participation in California 4-H physical, social and emotional health programming increased 550% since 2009, and 74% of California 4-H youth report having a health-related growth mindset.

The Issue

California youth face increasing challenges to their social, emotional and physical health. Threats to children's physical health include obesity (28.9%), inactivity (76%), inadequate sleep (85%), and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption (63%). Social and emotional health is threatened by persistent feelings of sadness (32%), school bullying (28%), and cyberbullying (14%).

Teens learn how to improve their focus, attention, social and stress management skills at the University of California 4-H Mindfulness Retreat

How UC Delivers

Following the national mission mandate in 2010, California 4-H formed a statewide Healthy Living Advisory Committee.

Over the past nine years, California 4-H has:

• Increased healthy living project participation by 550%
• Developed five new programs targeting social-emotional needs and four new programs addressing physical needs
• Adopted a 4-H Water Policy
• Trained volunteers in Youth Mental Health First Aid
• Trained 127 youth as Healthy Living Leaders in 2018
• Provided health-focused expertise, guidance, and education to local, regional, and national groups
• Developed an online repository of health-focused resources for educators
• Integrated healthy living education into camp programming, state field days, state leaders conferences, and 4-H Thrive leadership trainings

The Impact

“I think mentally [4-H's Mindfulness camp] truly changed my mindset completely on my life and how I take care of my body as well as taking care of the people around me. And now continuing some of the techniques learned at the camp, I think I have become significantly happier with my life.” -- 2018 Mindfulness camp youth participant

Seventy four percent of 4-H youth report having a health-related growth mindset: 75% report getting adequate sleep; 83% report eating breakfast, 85% report eating family meals, and 73% pay attention to water intake.

Further, 90% of youth report encouraging friends to make responsible choices. Youth report aversion to engaging in risky behaviors such as texting and driving (96%), riding a bike without a helmet (78%), not wearing a seatbelt (96%), and someone their age drinking alcohol (97%), smoking (99%), or taking drugs (98%). 

4-Her's report positive food preparation skills such as following a recipe (82%), using measuring equipment (90%), knife safety (91%), heat safety (87%), and cleanliness (75%). In all of these ways, UC ANR improves health for all as well as community health and wellness, contributing to the public value of promoting healthy people and communities.

As the California 4-H Healthy Living Advisory Committee enters its tenth year, the team continues to prioritize emerging challenges. With anxiety, attention deficits, stress, and suicide on the rise, a continued focus on addressing these issues with new curriculum and training will be prioritized. Seeking additional opportunities for cross-program integration with other UC ANR statewide programs like CalFresh Healthy Living, UC will further help to address poor nutrition and physical inactivity concerns. Staff and volunteer development will strengthen all 4-H programs so that adequate sleep, time outdoors, and social interactions are woven into existing programming.

After participating in 4-H SNAC programs, 95% of youth participants reported they learned how to be a better leader, supporting increased health outcomes in their communities.

The Issue

Youth in low-income communities of color face health inequities. While 14.6% of all California adolescents ages 12-17 are classified as obese, rates are much higher among Latino adolescents (20.2%) and highest among adolescents in very low-income households (20.4% vs. 12.7% among the highest income households). Further, according to a recent study, youth who feel more connected at school face a 48% - 66% reduction in risk of poor health outcomes in adulthood.

Students teaching their parents what they learned at the Leadership Academy

How UC Delivers

Over the course of the 2018/19 academic year UC staff from the CalFresh Healthy Living and 4-H programs in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties worked with 5^th and 6^th grade youth in two low-income, Latino communities through weekly after school 4-H Student Nutrition Advisory Councils (SNAC). 4-H SNAC members had the opportunity to learn and practice meeting facilitation skills, in-depth training on nutrition and physical activity education, and become leaders in health and nutrition education on their school campuses. In addition to the after school club meetings, 4-H SNAC members had the opportunity to participate in two 6-hour intensive trainings including the Leadership Academy and the Culinary Academy in partnership with their school district. The Leadership Academy included training in 4-H Officer positions, presentation skills, and included a mini career pathways fair where youth learned about their own interests in relation to different careers. All of the career pathways professionals were from the community and included a dentist, engineers, a health educator, a college professor, and firefighters.

Student practices stove top skills at the Culinary Academy

The Impact

“Today I learned how to be a better presenter. I also learned about different jobs, what I want to be when I grow up, and how to be a better leader.” - 4-H SNAC Youth

A total of 32 youth attended at least one of the 6-hour academies. Of the 4-H SNAC members that participated in the Leadership Academy, almost all agreed that due to their participation they learned how to be a better leader (95%) and improved their presentation skills (95%). Qualitative data collected from the Leadership Academy show themes of improved recognition of career pathways, enhanced confidence and presentation skills, and increased confidence in being a leader. Of the 4-H SNAC members that participated in the Culinary Academy, a majority reported that they learned new culinary skills including how to chop vegetables with a knife (97%), how to prepare a healthy snack (97%), how to measure wet and dry ingredients (88%), and how to follow a recipe (91%) because of participating in the culinary academy. In addition, 79% agreed that they could teach others about cooking, and 84% considered themselves a good cook after the academy.

During the career fair, an Engineer speaks with youth about what she does for her job

Positive youth development activities are specifically recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a step that schools can take to promote connectedness among youth and thus better health outcomes in adulthood. By creating programming focused on increasing youth confidence to lead, greater awareness of career pathways, and improved ability to teach others about cooking nutritious foods, UCCE is improving individual and community health and wellness, contributing to the public value of promoting healthy people and communities.

UC Cooperative Extension Advisor Natalie Price co-chaired a food security symposium with 85 organizations focused on collective action in Los Angeles. 86% of those surveyed increased their understanding of policies affecting food insecure individuals & food assistance programs.

The Issue

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) considers a household to be food insecure if it experiences either: low food security – reports a reduction in the quality, variety, or desirability of diet, or very low food security – reports of multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake. According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, in southeast Los Angeles County 32.4% of households with incomes under 300% of the Federal Poverty Level are considered food insecure, approximately 79,000 individuals. Yet 1 in 3 potentially eligible individuals in Los Angeles County are not receiving CalFresh Food (formerly Food Stamps) assistance benefits. There is a need to increase participation in the CalFresh Food program, and to connect those who are not eligible to programs such as WIC, summer meals, and the charitable food network. Greater success can be achieved by collaborating across sectors to identify clients in need, coordinate their referral to appropriate services, and bring resources to trusted schools and community sites. This is especially timely as confusion over eligibility based on immigration status has precipitated distrust and declining enrollment rates across many food assistance programs.

How UC Delivers

UC ANR Cooperative Extension Advisor Natalie Price co-chaired an effort to hold a food security symposium for service providers in southeast Los Angeles County in partnership with a coalition of local government and non-profit organizations. Held in May 2019 in honor of CalFresh Awareness Month, the symposium brought together 98 individuals representing more than 85 direct service organizations (nonprofits, education, health care) serving southeast Los Angeles. The symposium aimed to define and examine the scope of food security, provide an overview of food assistance resources, increase understanding of current policies impacting food security, and create opportunities for collaboration among organizations. Price moderated a panel discussion where local program representatives spoke about program eligibility, increasing outreach, and donating food waste. Policy experts addressed immigration issues and described how to contact your local representative to advocate for anti-hunger legislation. At the end of the symposium, participants engaged in a round table discussion and call to action, where they brainstormed ways their organizations can collectively support efforts to reduce food insecurity.

Event speakers and planning committee

UCCE Advisor Natalie Price facilitating the panel discussion

The Impact

Seventy eight of the 98 symposium participants completed a pre/post evaluation to assess knowledge gain:

• 67% of respondents increased their understanding of the definition and scope of food insecurity

• 65% of respondents increased their awareness of the food resources available to help food insecure individuals/families in their area and know how to access them

• 86% of respondents increased their understanding of current state and federal policies affecting food insecure individuals and food assistance programs

Participants wrote that as a result of the symposium they made new connections, plan to educate colleagues and clients, and intend for their organizations to become CalFresh application assisters. When asked what they would apply from what they learned, respondents elaborated:

• "[I will] provide additional information that I've learned today to my patients and encourage increased enrollment/participation."
• "I am aware of new initiatives to help all those who qualify access benefits related to food security with appropriate information and regulations."
• "Information about immigration will be shared to the people of the community, for instance, information about Public Charge (federal policy negatively affecting food insecure immigrant populations)."

In addition, the Southeast Los Angeles Food Security Coalition who hosted the event tracked an increase in its membership as a result of the symposium. All evaluation results and notes from the action-oriented brainstorming session will be used to plan follow up projects and events.

Research shows that applying a collective impact model can achieve greater results than individual action alone, particularly when addressing complex social problems such as food security. By bringing together 85 different organizations, building a common agenda, and creating the infrastructure for continued communication, this event laid the groundwork for a successful model of community change. In this way, UC ANR improves food security, contributing to the public value of safeguarding abundant and healthy food for all Californians.

Food security symposium attendees

Congresswoman Linda Sanchez welcomed participants via video from Washington D.C.

 

Attendees donated non-perishable food items to the interfaith food center pantry

UC Cooperative Extension Advisor Surendra Dara organized a conference on biologicals that drew growers from California, other states, and outside the U.S. 95.7% of those surveyed plan to use information learned on nearly 70,000 acres which they farm, manage, and influence.

The Issue

The term biologicals in agriculture refers to biocontrol agents such as parasitic wasps and predatory arthropods, microbial and botanical pesticides, biostimulants and other bio-based inputs used for pest management or improving crop health and productivity. The potential of many biologicals is not fully explored mainly because of the stigma that they do not perform well compared to some synthetic inputs. There is a need among growers, crop advisors, and pest control advisors to learn about the basic and applied aspects of biologicals, successful field examples, and associated regulatory aspects, improving the use of biologicals in crop production and protection for more sustainable food production.

Ag Innovations Conference organizer Surendra Dara speaking to attendees about the potential of biologicals

How UC Delivers

UC ANR Cooperative Extension Advisor Surendra Dara organized an Ag Innovations Conference focused exclusively on biologicals. Held in March 2019 in Santa Maria, the biologicals conference and trade show drew nearly 180 people from California, other states, and outside the United States. The conference offered a platform for the farming community, agricultural input industry, and researchers to come together, network, learn about growers' concerns, and discuss the potential of biologicals in promoting sustainable agriculture. Topics presented at the conference included regulatory updates; how to improve soil organic matter and soil microbiome; microbial and botanical biostimulants, their mode of action, and use strategies; biological and microbial studies; and alternative uses for entomopathogenic fungi. The trade show allowed vendors to showcase their products and technologies and meet with the farming community to understand their needs.

Speakers answering questions from attendees

The Impact

A large attendance and overwhelmingly positive feedback at the conference and through anonymous surveys indicated the success of this outreach effort. Out of the 138 survey responses, 97.1% indicated that the information presented at the conference was useful. Participants specified that they learned the differences and similarities of biologicals, the benefits of biologicals and their influence in farming, information on implementing biological control agents into an Integrated Pest Management program, state of the industry and discussion of trends in ag biological products, and new microbials. 95.7% of respondents plan to use information they learned on nearly 70,000 acres which they farm, manage, and influence. As shown in Dara's research, using biologicals in agricultural systems can improve soil and plant health. For example, in a 2017 field study of tomatoes, silicon, microbial, botanical, and nutrient materials improved processing tomato yields by 27 to 32% compared to the standard fertility program. Biologicals are more sustainable because they allow for the efficient use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, reducing groundwater contamination and avoiding resistance problems for pests and diseases, respectively. In this way, UC ANR enhances the ecological sustainability of agriculture, contributing to the public value of protecting California's natural resources.

Vendors at the trade show organized at the Ag Innovations Conference at the Santa Maria Veterans' Memorial Center