The Center for Science in Public Interest (CSPI) is hosting a virtual 2023 Sugar Reduction Summit to convene researchers, advocates, and stakeholders working in the field of sugar and sugary drink reduction on April 25-27, 2023, from 10:00 a.m.-2:15 p.m. PDT. The program includes four plenary sessions and twenty workshop sessions on sugary drink reduction science, communications, and policies, each led by experts in the field. One of the invited experts leading a workshop is Christina Hecht, senior policy advisor with the Nutrition Policy Institute. Hecht organized and will moderate the session: “Water: Making it Real” on Wednesday April 26, 2023 at 1:10 p.m. PDT. Hecht is an active voice in supporting equitable access to safe and clean drinking water. She is a co-founder of the UC Research Consortium on Beverages and Health, a group of faculty from every UC campus who work to reduce consumption of sugary drinks and replace them with water. She belongs to the National Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Reduction Workgroup, where she uses research to propose policy recommendations to reduce intake of sugary drinks. Hecht works with colleagues at NPI and nationally to advance research in drinking water access and to advocate for healthier beverage choices; she also coordinates the National Drinking Water Alliance. Hecht will speak about the essentials to enable consumption of water and panellists will describe current community efforts to enable drinking water in Navajo Nation, New Orleans, Nevada and Philadelphia. Registration for the 2023 Sugar Reduction Summit is free of charge. The agenda for the event can be found on the Center for Science in Public Interest website.

The National Water Quality Monitoring Council is hosting a conference to call attention to monitoring water quality/quantity, public health, and ecological health in all water resources. The 13th National Monitoring Conference will be held from April 24-28, 2023 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with a limited virtual format. Christina Hecht, senior policy advisor at the Nutrition Policy Institute and coordinator of the National Drinking Water Alliance, is an invited panelist for the session “Lead Testing in Schools and Daycares: California's Case Example,” on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 from 10:30 a.m.-noon PDT. She will share her research experience and answer questions about school drinking water lead testing programs, policy and results in California and nationally. Prospective attendees may register and view the conference program agenda on the North American Lake Management Society website.

The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program provides reimbursements for nutritious meals and snacks to children enrolled in participating child care sites. Christina Hecht, senior policy advisor for the Nutrition Policy Institute and coordinator of the National Drinking Water Alliance, presented on the importance of the CACFP drinking water requirements and best practices for offering clean and safe drinking water in child care in an interactive session at the thirty-seventh National Child Nutrition Conference in San Diego, CA. Hecht presented her session, titled “A Fresh Take on Water in CACFP” on April 11, 2023.

The annual CalFresh Forum, hosted by Nourish California in partnership with the California Department of Social Services, brings together key stakeholders from across California to acknowledge outstanding work, identify opportunities, and discuss strategies to improve the reach and impact of CalFresh. Nutrition Policy Institute researchers Wendi Gosliner, Celeste Felix and Ron Strochlic will have a virtual booth at the Forum to highlight the successful CalFresh Text Messaging pilot project. From September 2020 to March 2021, over 172,000 San Diego CalFresh participants received text messages in English or Spanish from CDSS including a link directing recipients to a website with information on selecting, storing and preparing California-grown fruits and vegetables; health benefits; tips to reduce food waste; and recipes – including TikTok videos. The project was made possible in partnership with the UC San Diego Center for Community Health and the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, which administers CalFresh in the county. The CalFresh Forum will be hosted in-person and virtually February 15-16, 2023 at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena and the Whova Virtual Platform.