- Author: Jennifer Sowerwine
UC partnership with Karuk, Yurok, and Klamath Tribes in Klamath Basin improves family and community food security, community health and well-being, and tribal food sovereignty. In a Basin-wide evaluation, 65% felt the community was more food secure.
The Issue
Tribes in the Klamath River Basin are among the poorest and most food insecure in the US despite great ecological diversity and a history of plentiful foods including salmon, deer, elk, acorns, mushrooms, and berries. Commercial fishing, mining, clear-cut logging, fire suppression, dams, and industrial agriculture coupled with decades of forced assimilation have disrupted traditional food systems and intergenerational sharing of cultural food information and skills. The majority of the tribal population (64%) depends on food assistance yet 80% of those still worry about their next meal. Most foods in the region are imported and provided by outside businesses and limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables as well as traditional foods has led to high rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and depression. Yet the communities are actively engaged in transforming their food system to be more healthy, culturally relevant and resilient.
How UC Delivers
Using a community-led planning process and building on relationships of trust, UCCE academics and partners from the Karuk, Yurok, and Klamath Tribes and a local community based organization secured funding from 2012-2018 for research and improvements to food security across the three tribes' ancestral territories in California and Oregon. With funding from the United States Department of Agriculture's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (USDA-AFRI) Food Security program, tribal and community-led food security workshops focused food sovereignty efforts seeking to strengthen subsistence skills including canning, baking, butchering, drip irrigation, fruit tree pruning, and seed saving. A focus on restoring cultural foodways included seasonal youth camps, connecting elders with youth, and inter-tribal youth exchange. Two new community gardens and six greenhouses were established and more than eight orchards were revitalized. Six tribal Master Gardeners were trained and several agricultural bulletins were created to offer residents regionally-relevant information to support access to fresh produce through an extended growing season. A new K-12 Native Foods Curriculum supports cultural learning and STEM skills in six local schools. Three dissertations share findings on key food plants and traditional land management, a digital library houses tribal cultural food information, and two tribal herbaria supports classroom education and future indigenous plant research. Over the course of six years nearly 17,500 participants -- with many of them repeat participants -- benefited from over 3,000 workshops, events, community discussions, meetings, and other activities.
“The community gardens, better maintained trees and food preservation all work together to create a culture where it is cool to eat local food. It is a source of pride at potlucks. Gardening and fresh fruit is available, and children understand where their food is coming from. I feel like there is less division and we are more unified. The relationships that have been created from the program are good.”
-Tribal food security participant
The Impact
After six years, Klamath Basin residents have new skills, resources, and networks to improve family and community food security, community health and well-being, and tribal food sovereignty. In a Basin-wide evaluation, 77% of respondents said they had learned something new from Food Security activities; 67% had tried out new skills at home; 65% felt the community was more food secure; and 81% said the programs have changed the community in other positive ways. The Karuk Tribe's new Pikyav Field Institute continues food security programming and improves college readiness for Native youth. The Klamath Tribes' new community kitchen will support ongoing food security activities. Partners have leveraged project successes, securing over $4.6M for expanded project work related to developing an inclusive and equitable society by building climate resilient Native American communities and agro-ecosystems, improving Native American food security through increased community access to native foods, and increasing ecological sustainability of forested landscapes that provide cultural foods and fibers. In this way, UC ANR partners with the community to improve food security, contributing to the public value of safeguarding abundant and healthy food for all Californians.
For more information on the project activities and outcomes, please visit the Karuk-UC Berkeley Collaborative website.
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- Author: Peter Ako Larbi
After attending a summer workshop at the Agricultural Application Engineering Lab, 97% of student participants in the Reedley College Upward Bound program reported learning much or very much about spray engineering basics.
The Issue
Enabling K-12 students to experience math and science in agriculture enhances their awareness of the diverse career opportunities related to agriculture. Every year, high school students from underrepresented groups participating in the Reedley College Upward Bound Math and Science program receive two weeks of workshops at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension (KARE) Center to gain such experience.
How UC Delivers
Participating this year for the first time, UC Cooperative Extension Specialist Peter Ako Larbi delivered a workshop to 85 high school students in four sessions at his Agricultural Application Engineering (AgAppE) Lab located at the KARE Center. The learning objectives were for the students to become familiar with the concept of spray application and to acquire some practical basic sprayer calibration skills. The topics covered included: introduction to spray application, which covered definitions of spray, properties of spray, and demonstration of atomization; nozzles; sprayers; and hands-on exercise in backpack sprayer calibration. In each session, students volunteered to assist with demonstrations.
The Impact
At the beginning of the workshop, most of the students indicated that they were unfamiliar with the subject matter. However, the students demonstrated much excitement and pleasure during each of the sessions. Overall, 97% of all the student participants reported gaining much or very much new learning about agricultural spray engineering from the workshop. For the individual topics covered, students gained the following levels of learning: 96% for introduction to spray application, 98% for nozzles; 89% for sprayers; and 80% for hands-on exercise in backpack sprayer calibration.
The learning gained through this workshop contributed to the increased workforce retention and competency of the students who are the future workforce of our society. In 2007, the World Bank determined four effects of agricultural education and training on agricultural productivity: (1) enhanced worker productivity; (2) formal education increases grower's ability to choose prime combinations of inputs and outputs; (3) additional school influences grower's capacity to innovate and adapt new technologies; and (4) additional education facilitates interaction with commercial markets. In so doing, the AgAppE Lab has contributed to the public value of developing a qualified workforce for California.
- Author: Deepa Srivastava
- Author: Vikram Koundinya
- Author: Angie Keihner
- Author: Michele Nicole-Byrnes
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A ten month pilot program in Kings County addressed the obesity crisis among parents of young children through nutrition education and Bailoterapia Dance Exercise.
The Issue
Many rural communities in California are finding inspiring solutions to the obesity crisis by leveraging local community strengths to promote healthy living. Kings County in California is largely a rural county with 80% of SNAP-Ed adults overweight or obese. The Corcoran Family Resource Center (FRC) located in Kings County identified a need to improve nutrition education and physical activity awareness among the parents of young children.
How UC Delivers
This need stimulated the CalFresh Healthy Living-UC program (CFHL, UC) to collaborate with Corcoran FRC and Family Healthcare Network (FHCN) to develop and initiate a 10-month pilot to address this obesity issue by providing weekly spotlight nutrition education and Bailoterapia dance exercise lessons to adults and parents of young children. This pilot initiative concluded in April 2019. The CFHL, UC program implemented the nutrition and dance exercise classes and identified a promotora, community champion, to sustain the dance classes at the Corcoran FRC site. FHCN supported the promotora's liability responsibility and conducted free health screenings. Corcoran FRC provided access to the site for physical activity classes and childcare while parents attended dance classes. Participants' goals and intentions were measured using intent-to-change surveys on a variety of healthy eating and active living topics: food groups, breakfast, sweetened beverages, fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains, portion size, fast food, and physical activity. Additionally, CFHL, UC administered and piloted the pre-post Adult Physical Activity Survey (APAS) with 8 adult participants to evaluate physical activity (PA) behaviors. Moreover, at the conclusion of the pilot, two focus groups were conducted with dance exercise participants (n=13) and key community partners (n=7). All program participants were female, predominantly Spanish speaking, and primary caregivers of young children. The Social-Ecological Model and SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework were utilized to design the research and tailor evaluation questions for the various levels of anticipated outcomes at the individual and environmental levels.
The Impact
Of the 141 intent-to-change surveys completed, 83% of participants not already practicing the promoted behavior indicated their intention to do so within the next week. The APAS pilot findings were very promising with increases from pre to post in Bailoterapia participants meeting the PA guidelines for moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (25% point gain) and muscle strengthening (38% point gain). Additionally, the majority of the Bailoterapia participants reported improvements from pre to post in the number of days they exercised for 30 or more minutes (50%; ½ a day more) and built or strengthened muscles (63%; 1¼ days more), as well as the frequency of making small changes to be more active (63%; gaining 1.13 on a 5-point scale, p<.05). Due to the small sample only one statistically significant result was observed.
The focus group findings of the participants and community partners highlighted program effectiveness and benefits. These included improvements in participant's knowledge, skills, attitude, and behavior about nutrition and physical activity. One participant shared the benefits of participating in the program: “I also suffer with anxiety, and going [to this program] I have fun dancing, I enjoy it, I sweat, and it makes me feel like I have a lot of energy. And I've also kept an adequate weight and nutrition.”
For community partners, program success was attributed to organizational capacity, expertise, and funding; program monitoring and evaluation; free childcare and health screenings; and being sensitive to participants' cultural-social norms and values. The UCCE Nutrition Educator shared, “As a consequence [of the nutrition and exercise weekly classes], the ladies look forward to Fridays. One of the ladies said, 'I didn't come last Friday, and it threw my whole week off.' So, that's how much it's on their mind now that they're expecting -- looking forward to -- that day of physical activity.”
Overall, program effectiveness and benefits included community partnerships coming together to sustain health promotion efforts and participants and their families adopting healthier lifestyles. For example, one participant mentioned, “[M]y husband was suffering with high cholesterol, so when I started coming to the classes, it was a way to communicate to him how he should help himself. And during that time, he started to change his nutrition. He lowered his cholesterol numbers a lot. So, when he went back to his new appointment with his doctor, the doctor was surprised [at] what he had done to lower his cholesterol so much.”
Through its strong community partnerships, UC ANR improved community health and wellness in Kings County, contributing to the public value of promoting healthy people and communities.
/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>- Author: Chutima Ganthavorn
- Author: Emma McKellar
- Author: Marlyn Pulido
- Contributor: Michele Byrnes
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UC-led partnership resulted in over 29,000 pounds of fresh produce being distributed to 900 students and limited resource families in Coachella in 2018. More than a quarter of participants reported being more food secure.
The Issue
The desert city of Coachella has a population of 6,919. Seven-hundred and sixty-one residents do not live within 10 miles of a supermarket or have a car, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Research Atlas. In an effort to increase healthy food access and close the food gap in the area, CalFresh Healthy Living at University of California (CFHL-UC) teamed up with Food In Need of Distribution (FIND) Food Bank to bring fresh produce to the students and families of Cesar Chavez Elementary School.
How UC Delivers
CFHL-UC partnered with FIND in 2018 to bring CalFresh enrollment support and food donations to nutrition class participants at the Coachella Valley Adult School. In the spirit of partnership, CFHL-UC introduced FIND to Cesar Chavez Elementary School with the hopes of bringing more resources to families in the area. With staff and teacher support at Cesar Chavez Elementary, CFHL-UC delivers a spectrum of services to help influence individuals to live healthier lifestyles including nutrition and physical activity education for both children and parents using evidence-based curricula (Go, Glow, Grow; Plan, Shop, Save, Cook; and Coordinated Approach to Child Health). Environmental and policy efforts include Smarter Lunchrooms Movement resources to increase student breakfast/lunch participation, local school wellness committee collaboration to offer wellness policy support, and this recent partnership with FIND Food Bank to increase access to fresh produce.
The Impact
“When I bring the food home, my mom is happy because she does not have to go to the grocery store.”
– 3rd Grade Student at Cesar Chavez
As a result of the UC-led partnership and collaboration, FIND Food Bank made Cesar Chavez Elementary a food distribution site for their summer food donations. This included five events, with an average of 150 families attending, which helped feed an average of 690 people in 2018. Cesar Chavez was the highest attended distribution site that FIND serviced in 2018. Due to this success and need, FIND now provides monthly food distribution for the students at Cesar Chavez Elementary School. This year, FIND distributed over 29,000 pounds of fresh produce for 900 students to take home and share with their families. CFHL-UC staff highlighted the produce by supplying recipe cards from EatFresh.org for families to be able to make nutritious, easy, and inexpensive meals.
In addition, CFHL-UC helped increase food security and healthy living for program participants by teaching food resource management skills. Participants in the Plan, Shop, Save, Cook series reported making behavior changes such as planning meals ahead of time (44% of 124 survey respondents), comparing unit prices (40%), shopping with a grocery list (35%), and using Nutrition Facts to make food choices (54%). Importantly, 27% of participants were less likely to run out of food before the end of the month. This program is one example of how UC ANR improves food security, contributing to the public value of safeguarding abundant and healthy food for all Californians. CFHL-UC aims to continue working in Coachella and collaborating further with FIND Food Bank to increase access to healthful foods at other sites in need.
- Author: Mary L Blackburn
- Author: Katherine Uhde
230 seniors at seven low-income senior housing sites, became active gardeners after participating in UCCE Alameda wellness interventions and UC Master Gardener trainings.
The Issue
The Center for Disease Control reported in 2017, older adults accounted for 22% of the U.S. population, surpassing children and adolescents aged 0–14 years (19%). Therefore, California is turning gray. UC ANR research emphasizes the need for senior-friendly prevention strategies to promote health and well-being among this fast growing segment of the population group. The human connection to plants and nature as a source of self-expression, sensory stimulation, wellbeing, physical function, quality of life, and socialization, is encouraged for this group.
How UC Delivers
UC ANR research found senior housing elders had higher rates of nutrition and lifestyle related diseases (Blackburn 2010). As staff planned on-site nutrition and wellness interventions, they considered gardening as an activity to stimulate interest and encourage participation of tenants regardless of physical abilities, literacy, language, and energy levels. The goal was to address inactivity, social isolation, access, participation, and healthy nutrition and lifestyles. Low-maintenance container gardening accommodated frail and disabled seniors, providing opportunities for all residents to participate in the gardening experiences despite physical, environmental, or other barriers.
The Impact
After 25 UC Master Gardner trainings and gardening maintenance activities, 110 seniors planted garden plots, and 120 for the first time planted container herb gardens. To launch the gardening activities in May of 2018, 199 of 624 seniors completed garden pre-assessments. Seniors completing the assessment showed 97 had never attended a nutrition, physical activity, or gardening workshop; 92 had not used container gardens; and 119 did not have a plot in the on-site community gardens. Over a one-year period, 230 seniors participated in fall and spring planting seasons, and are now planning for a third season. As a result of their participation and effort, the number of garden plots has tripled. Additionally, thirty percent of participants trained by UC Master Gardeners went on to volunteer as peer-educators and gardening ambassadors.
Studies have shown that gardening provides multiple ways to improve health and wellness such as lessening a sense of loss; providing opportunities for creativity, self-expression, social interaction and sensory stimulation; increasing self-esteem, practicing fine and gross motor skills, and improving eye-hand coordination. (D'Andrea, Batavia, & Sasson, 2007); (DL Armstrong, 2000), (Park, Shoemaker, & Haub, 2009). All tenants had an opportunity to participate in the gardening activities which also increased cross-cultural interaction, and peer-to-peer English language learning. In these ways UC ANR is promoting healthy people and communities.
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