- (Strategic Initiative) Healthy Families and Communities
- Author: Deepa Srivastava, Ph.D.
Adult participants adopted food and financial resource management practices and improved their food security and household financial stability.
The Issue
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased food insecurity among community's most vulnerable population. Food insecurity is a major public health issue in which low-income individuals are disproportionately affected. While people with limited incomes face many constraints that negatively impact their food resources and access to foods, employing food and financial resource management knowledge and skills may help promote a healthy diet and stretch food budgets, ultimately increasing food security and food resiliency.
How...
- Author: Marcel Horowitz
- Author: Anne Iaccopucci
- Author: Dorina Espinoza
UC 4-H 'Disease Detectives' across California become advocates for health and COVID-19 prevention after learning about epidemiology.
The Issue
With the emergence of the coronavirus, 4-H in-person meetings had to be canceled, along with schools, sports and other youth development programs. Emerging research shows this gap of in-person socializing, disruption to routines, fear of the virus, and the loss of a sense of personal autonomy has led to an increase in social, emotional and mental health issues for teens. Over half of teens in a
- Author: Chutima Ganthavorn
- Editor: Andra Nicoli
- Contributor: Jackie Barahona
Strong partnership between CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE Riverside County and Desert Sands Unified Early Childhood Education has resulted in preschool children developing healthier habits and healthier school environments.
The Issue
The Desert Sands Unified (DSUSD) Early Childhood Education (ECE) Program operates nine Head Start/State Preschool sites to serve limited resource families in Coachella Valley. The District's Head Start Needs Assessment indicates that the majority (80%) of 220 parents/guardians...
- Author: Deepa Srivastava, Ph.D.
CalFresh Healthy Living UCCE nutrition education program helps students increase willingness to try new healthy foods with 79-82% reporting they would ask for the target foods at home, contributing to improved youth nutrition and health.
The Issue
Poor eating habits and excess energy intake can negatively affect body weight and contributes to poor health outcomes among children. Eating appropriate mix of foods from the food groups and subgroups is the key recommendation because it provides a variety of nutrients that are associated with positive health outcomes and help prevent the risk of chronic disease throughout...
- Author: Deepa Srivastava,Ph.D.
Families participating in EFNEP report eating healthy on a budget and saving $44 per month, contributing to increased food security.
The Issue
Efforts to strengthen nutrition and food security is needed more than ever as families with young children face unprecedented challenges due to the COVID pandemic. The rising food insecurity in California and across the Nation is concerning. Food insecurity is linked to poor dietary outcomes and obesity. The EFNEP program in Tulare continues to empower families to support family health and resiliency (i.e. resourceful) with knowledge and skills to adopt healthy behaviors across four core areas of nutrition/physical activity,...
