Like California, Maine is providing Universal School Meals statewide for the 2022-2023 school year. The Nutrition Policy Institute is collaborating with a national research team to understand the opportunities and challenges of providing universal school meals during the federally-funded COVID-19 implementation of free school meals in Maine to inform continuation of universal school meals beyond the federally supported program. During spring of 2022, a total of 43 school food authorities (SFA) in Maine completed an online survey about the challenges and benefits of school food service during the COVID-19 federally funded universal meals program as well as their hopes and concerns about continuing to implement universal school meals. SFAs reported benefits of USM such as increased school meal participation, reductions in perceived stigma of eating school meals, and the new absence of unpaid meal charges. Notable challenges reported during the COVID-19 pandemic were related to resources such as time, personnel, and financial support to meet the increased number of student school meal participation. Rural schools reported greater challenges than urban schools. The study highlights the role of public policy at local, state, and federal levels to support schools as they work to promote nutrition equity in the lunchroom. Results were published online the the journal Nutrients as part of their special issue on School Meals and Children's Dietary Behaviour. The study was conducted by lead author Juliana Cohen and Deborah Olarte of the Center for Health Inclusion, Research and Practice, Christina Hecht, Ken Hecht, Monica Zuercher, Wendi Gosliner, and Lorrene Ritchie from the Nutrition Policy Institute, Michele Polacsek of the University of New England, Center for Excellence in Public Health, Margaret Read of Share Our Strength, No Kid Hungry, Anisha Patel of Stanford University Division of General Pediatrics, Marleke Schwartz of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, and Lindsey Turner of the College of Education, Boise State University. The study was funded by Share Our Strength and Full Plates Full Potential.

The American Public Health Association holds an Annual Meeting & Expo for public health professionals to engage, collaborate, and network with the overarching goal of advancing the nation's health. This year's meeting in Boston, November 6-9, 2022 will celebrate 150 Years of Creating the Healthiest Nation: Leading the Path Toward Equity. Nutrition Policy Institute researchers will share findings that bring nutrition equity to the forefront of federal programs, school nutrition, community health, health literacy, and the food retail environment. A list of the poster presentations and live oral presentations is found below. 

Retail food environment: 

• What can we learn from California's investment in the Healthy Stores Refrigeration Grant Program? 
  Authors: Carolyn Chelius, Caroline Long, Taylor Baisey, Wendi Gosliner
  Wednesday, November 9, 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.; oral presentation

School meals: 

• Providing School Meals to All Students Free of Cost: Challenges and Benefits Reported by School District Foodservice Professionals to Inform California's Policy Implementation
  Authors: Wendi Gosliner, Monica Zuercher, Juliana Cohen, Christina Hecht, Michele Polacsek, Kenneth Hecht, Lindsey Turner, Marlene Schwartz, Anisha Patel, Lorrene Ritchie
  Monday, November 7, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.; oral presentation

• Impact of a teacher intervention to encourage students to eat school lunch 
  Authors: Hannah Thompson, Stephanie Machado, Kristine Madsen, Renata Cauchon-Robles, Marisa Neelon, Lorrene Ritchie
  Monday, November 7, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.; oral presentation

SNAP-Ed: 

• Evaluation identifies the most promising combinations of school-based Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) interventions for improving student fitness
  Authors: Sridharshi Hewawitharana, Gail Woodward-Lopez, Punam Ohri-Vachaspati, Francesco Acciai, Hannah R. Thompson, Wendi Gosliner
  Monday, November 7, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.; oral presentation

• Reductions in public health obesity prevention interventions due to COVID-19 disproportionately affect neighborhoods with pre-existing health inequities
  Authors: Erin E Esaryk, Carolyn D Rider, Gail Woodward-Lopez
  Tuesday, November 8, Session 8; 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.; poster presentation

• A novel approach to measuring potential for health equity impact in community health interventions 
  Authors: Janice Kao, Gail Woodward-Lopez, Christina Becker, Carolyn Rider, Erin Esaryk, Evan Talmage
  Tuesday, November 8, Session 7; 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.; poster presentation

WIC: 

• Assessing changes associated with expanding the WIC Cash-Value Benefit for the purchase of fruits and vegetables among children age 1 to 5 years: a longitudinal study
  Authors: Marisa Tsai, Christopher Anderson, Catherine Martinez, Martha Meza, Lauren Au, Lorrene Ritchie, Shannon Whaley
  Tuesday, November 8, 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.; oral presentation

Other: 

• Impact of an arts-based public health literacy program delivered online to high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic
  Authors: Hannah Thompson, Jackie Mendelson, Maya Zamek, Gabriel Cortez, Dean Schillinger
  Wednesday, November 9, 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.; oral presentation

4-H has expanded club topics and locations to appeal to a more diverse array of children.

The 4-H Program Leaders Working Group has published a series of fact sheets titled “Thriving with an Equity Lens.” While the fact sheets are written for 4-H professionals, the information is applicable to all of UC ANR's work with communities. 

“These fact sheets provide information and recommendations on how to foster a sense of belonging for marginalized youth, list staff competencies needed to engage a youth population, and offer recommendations for culturally adapting program evaluations,” said Fe Moncloa, 4-H youth development advisor for Santa Clara County. 

“Programming with an equity lens necessitates having an understanding of these concepts at the same time: paying attention to multiple systems of oppression, knowing the past and present cultural histories of your target population and having the ability to shift practices on the spot.

“The information on these fact sheets will hopefully help you have a greater understanding of the cultural histories of diverse populations and support you to offer culturally responsive programs.” 

The first fact sheet defines many terms used to talk about diversity, inclusion and equity.

The 11 fact sheets  cover the following topics:

1. Intro: Thriving Through an Equity Lens
2. Immigrant and Refugee Youth
3. LGBTQ+ Youth
4. Youth Experiencing Homelessness
5. Youth in Foster Care
6. Youth with Disabilities
7. Youth Living in Poverty
8. Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing
9. African American Youth
10. Latinx Youth
11. American Indian/Alaskan Native (First Nations) Youth

All of the “Thriving with an Equity Lens” fact sheets are posted at https://access-equity-belonging.extension.org/resources/fact-sheets.

Dear Colleagues:

Attracting and retaining highly qualified employees is a top priority for UC ANR. It's a critical part of our strategic plan and key to our ability to deliver the mission. It's been four years since we began our last Market Equity Adjustment Plan, which was completed this past year; in that time the labor market has continued to change due to factors like the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and systemic shifts in many labor markets. Those factors have increased pressures on household budgets for many of our employees; because of that UC ANR has recently conducted an updated analysis of market rates for our staff positions. I'm pleased to report today that, as part of UC ANR's overall compensation strategy, I have approved an accelerated two-year Market Equity Adjustment Plan for policy covered (non-represented) staff. 

This program will ensure salaries of existing staff are better aligned with the labor market and is effective as of April 2022, although changes in payroll will first be seen in June 2022. Using UC Career Tracks, UC ANR Human Resources will be able to identify, review and address the salaries of policy covered staff members whose pay is not in the updated competitive zone targets. All policy covered staff are eligible to participate in this plan, regardless of their position's funding source. 

To ensure that employees shift into appropriate market rates more quickly, our UC ANR program will be implemented over two years, rather than the four years we did previously. Please note: these equity adjustments are separate and distinct from any UC systemwide merit program approved later by President Drake. 

UC ANR leadership is committed to the health and well-being of our employees. This Market Equity Adjustment program is designed to address salary issues; other work continues throughout the system to address program support, enhancements to business operations, communications and more. Additional information on program eligibility and payroll dates will be forthcoming. Questions and follow-up can be addressed to humanresources@ucanr.edu. 

As always, many thanks for the great work you do to serve our mission and the people of California. Best wishes and have a wonderful weekend!

Glenda Humiston
Vice President