- Author: Diana Cervantes
En un mundo donde las fronteras a menudo se definen por líneas en mapas, la historia de Leticia D. Christian destaca por su determinación inquebrantable que desafía tanto las fronteras físicas como las profesionales. De médico y especialista en inmunología en Cuba a educadora de nutrición en los Estados Unidos, su viaje es un testimonio de pasión y dedicación.
Christian llegó a la División de Agricultura y Recursos Naturales de la Universidad de California (UC ANR) en 2009 como representante de programa, convirtiéndose desde entonces en una figura clave en la promoción de la salud y la nutrición dentro de la comunidad latina. Su enfoque único busca aplicar sus conocimientos en salud pública para beneficiar aquellos que más lo necesitan.
"Quería trabajar en salud pública, pero enfrenté varios obstáculos al llegar a los Estados Unidos. Estaba sobrecalificada para muchas posiciones, hasta que surgió la oportunidad de unirme a UC ANR", comenta Christian sobre su experiencia.
Fue con la creación del programa Cal Fresh en 2013 que comenzó a impartir clases de nutrición a los padres de los estudiantes del Distrito Escolar Unificado de Oakland. Además de abordar la nutrición, Christian también enfocó su trabajo en promover la importancia de la actividad física, implementando programas para fomentar estilos de vida saludables.
A pesar de los desafíos presentados por la pandemia de COVID-19, Christian sigue comprometida con su labor, reconociendo que el progreso depende de muchos factores, siendo uno de los principales lograr la participación de los padres en las clases.
Para la experta en nutrición, el verdadero valor de su trabajo radica en la prevención. Su compromiso va más allá de una sola sesión; los participantes reciben una serie de clases continuas, lo que la llena de satisfacción al ver el impacto positivo que genera.
Convertida en una figura de confianza y apoyo en su comunidad, Christian busca empoderar especialmente a las mujeres, reconociendo su influencia y destacando la importancia de inculcar un sentido de autoestima y ambición desde casa.
"Siempre hay que soñar que podemos, no quedarnos atrás, no conformarnos con migajas", insiste Christian, cuya determinación se vio reforzada por el apoyo generoso de las mujeres en su vida, incluyendo a su madre y hermanas, quienes fueron un ejemplo inspirador en su viaje hacia el éxito académico y profesional.
- Author: Michael Hsu
Tehama County students empowered by CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE educator and teachers
It's not uncommon for high school or college students to speak up and seek to improve their school environment. But at Evergreen Middle School in Tehama County, more than 100 sixth graders led the way to create healthy changes at their school.
As part of their health classes during the 2022-23 school year, the students researched the availability of spaces for physical activity, developed a survey gauging their peers' health awareness and needs, analyzed the results and data, and made recommendations for improvements.
“We learned that there's not a lot of places – except for Evergreen Middle School and some other parks around [our community of] Cottonwood – that have many physical activity places that you can easily get to or have access to,” said Bailey, one of the students.
They were guided by Mario Monroy-Olivas, a nutrition educator with CalFresh Healthy Living, University of California Cooperative Extension in Tehama, Shasta and Trinity counties. Locally administered by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, CFHL, UCCE is one of the agencies in California that teaches nutrition to people eligible for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) – referred to as CalFresh Food in California.
Working alongside Evergreen teachers Roxanne Akers and Albert Estrada, Monroy-Olivas challenged the sixth graders to tackle a “Youth Participatory Action Research” project – a yearlong, multi-step undertaking typically designed for older teens.
“The fact that we're doing it with these younger kids, starting a lot sooner, I think it's super impactful for them to know that, together, collectively they can make huge changes that will create positive outcomes – not just for themselves but for an entire community,” Monroy-Olivas said.
Middle school students speak up at school board meeting
In February 2023, eight class representatives presented their findings to the Evergreen Union School District Board of Education. Speaking before the five-member board for 20 minutes, the young people were naturally a bit nervous.
“It was a little nerve-wracking at first, but it wasn't that bad, once we got up there and got it over with,” said Lilah, one of the presenters. “Me and a couple of my friends were doing pep talks and practicing what we were going to say.”
The students showed a composite map that they drew from their classes' investigation of spaces for physical activity in the area, and shared a brochure that outlined their research and survey results. In a survey of more than 80 of their peers, 92% of respondents said they needed more access to physical activity equipment during class breaks, recess and lunch.
“The board members were super impressed with the students, coming to the school board and doing this,” Monroy-Olivas said. “They said they haven't had students doing this kind of advocacy work; for them, it was a really big deal.”
In the end, the young people made a strong case for more water-bottle refilling stations, badminton equipment and balls for other sports, and stencils for schoolyard activities like hopscotch, four square and snail (a type of hopscotch game).
“We got almost everything we asked for, and the project we're working on now is to help put in the things we asked for,” said Lilah, adding that, during this current school year, the students (now in seventh grade) are working on acquiring the stencils and paint.
More than just equipment, students gain skills and confidence
While the promise of new gear is exciting for the youth, they are acquiring something even more valuable and enduring – a sense that they are empowered to make a difference in their community, according to Janessa Hartmann, UC Cooperative Extension community nutrition and health advisor for Tehama, Shasta and Trinity counties.
“Yes, it's important to want to do stencils and hydration stations and have more equipment,” Hartmann said, “but the bigger impact for the students is that they think: ‘Now I know that my health is important, now I know how to advocate for myself, and now I know that I can do that.'”
Monroy-Olivas said he observed tremendous growth in all the students, and especially in the self-confidence of the class representatives.
“I grew as a leader because I used to be really shy and hated talking in front of people, but through this project we're doing, this has really helped me be able to talk in front of crowds – and listen to others,” Lilah explained.
In a survey at the end of the sixth-grade project, the percentage of youth who answered “Yes, most definitely” to the statement “I want to make a difference in making my school/community healthier” jumped from 19% before the project to 44% after. And that percentage of “Yes, most definitely” replies jumped from 6% to 31% for the statement “I can use research results to come up with solutions or recommendations for making my school/community a healthier place.”
“We learned to promote what we want and try to get it as much as we can, so we can get more physical activities and more people can be included,” said Brian, another student working on the project.
“It's important so when we get older, we know how to voice our opinions and let people know what we're thinking,” added classmate Brooklynn.
Wishing that he had such an opportunity when he was growing up, Monroy-Olivas said he feels the students now know the power of their voice.
“I wholeheartedly believe that's the biggest win out of this whole project, that they're learning how to advocate for their own voice and change,” he said.
/h3>/h3>/h3>- Author: Brianna Aguayo Villalon
- Editor: Richard Pulvera
- Editor: Wendi Gosliner
Safety net programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP nationally and CalFresh in California, and the Earned Income Tax Credit, commonly known as EITC, provides great benefits to families facing economic hardship and food insecurity. However, participation in these programs was lower in California compared to the national average. Nutrition Policy Institute researchers examined the associations of participation in SNAP and receipt of the Earned Income Tax Credit with perceptions of government, welfare stigma, and discrimination among families in California with low incomes. Researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey and interviews involving 497 caregivers of young children in California between August 2020 and May 2021. Study results highlighted that SNAP participants and EITC recipients had greater perceptions of social stigma compared to eligible non-participants in these programs in the beginning of the pandemic. Further, SNAP was associated with program stigma and experiences of discrimination among food-insecure participants. This study suggests that reducing stigma related to safety net program participation is important, and policymakers should consider initiatives to improve messaging and outreach that may help. The study was recently published in the Health Affairs Scholar journal. This study was conducted by Nutrition Policy Institute researchers Richard Pulvera and Wendi Gosliner, along with Kaitlyn Jackson and Rita Hamad of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Lia Fernald with the School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley.
- Author: Brianna Aguayo Villalon
- Editor: suzanne rauzon
- Editor: Ron Strochlic
The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—known as SNAP nationally and CalFresh in California—provides food benefits to over 22 million low-income families in the US to supplement their grocery budget. New Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) research demonstrates that sending encouraging text messages to SNAP participants helps promote nutrition resources and stimulate positive feelings about the program. NPI researchers collaborated with the University of California, San Diego, Center for Community Health, to partner with the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency to send 5 monthly behavioral science-informed nutrition text messages to approximately 170,000 CalFresh participants. The text messages were sent in English and Spanish and provided information about the benefits of buying and consuming California-grown fruits and vegetables. Each text-message included a link to a website which provided information about selecting, storing, and preparing fruits and vegetables, and budget-friendly recipes. Results highlighted that participants gained better knowledge on these subjects, as well as feeling good about participating in CalFresh and appreciating the program's efforts to help participants eat healthfully. Survey results demonstrated that 90% of respondents appreciated the text-messages. This research brief demonstrates that further communication efforts through text-messages from SNAP agencies can help program participants eat more healthfully and improve their views on SNAP. The brief was developed by NPI researchers Celeste Felix, Ron Strochlic and Wendi Gosliner and Sena Karvas from the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health.
- Author: Michael Hsu
Community nutrition and health advisor builds bridges across cultures in Tulare, Kings, Fresno and Madera counties
At a young age, Irene Padasas – UC Cooperative Extension community nutrition and health advisor for Tulare, Kings, Fresno and Madera counties – saw first-hand how environmental health conditions can impact a family's choices.
When she was in fourth grade, her parents moved their family from bustling Manila, capital of the Philippines, to a small town on a distant island. Her younger brother, who had been hospitalized at age 3 for a year due to complications from meningitis, had to re-learn how to walk and talk.
Padasas' mother hoped that leaving the more polluted urban environment would benefit his long road of rehabilitation. “The decision was made to ensure a better quality of life for my brother,” Padasas said. “So my parents decided to just move to the countryside.”
The family settled in a beach town in largely rural Aklan province, near the center of the Philippine archipelago.
“There are advantages living in a place like that, where you're close to nature; there's not much traffic; the community is very tight,” Padasas said. “You feel like you're part of this small community where everybody is looking after each other.”
Contributing to that sense of community – and cultivating close relationships to ensure the health and well-being of all – are just some of the reasons why Padasas chose her line of work in Cooperative Extension.
Padasas oversees the delivery of two federal nutrition programs in her region – CalFresh Healthy Living, University of California and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. She develops, provides and evaluates Extension programs in partnership with the diverse populations of the Central Valley, including a variety of Latino, Mexican Indigenous and Asian communities.
Despite differences in culture and background, Padasas works to find common ground and build bridges – often through a joke and a laugh.
“Humor is such a big part of Filipino culture; with the challenges that I encountered in life, humor was so important in getting through and bouncing back,” she said. “That part of my culture is an important aspect of me to build relationships and genuine connections and introduce the work that we do; they don't see us as a ‘researcher from University of California,' they see us just like them, just like anybody else in the community.”
Growing up near both the beach and farmland in Aklan, Padasas feels an affinity for the agricultural landscapes and lifestyles in the San Joaquin Valley. She remembers feeding her family's chickens and pigs and playing among the neighbors' cows and water buffalo.
“I feel like whenever I drive to different places here in the Central Valley, it reminds me a lot of my childhood back in the day,” she said.
Nevertheless, Padasas misses the food in the Philippines – especially the seafood that she grew up eating, succulent prawns and enormous fish found nowhere in California.
“We would wait by the shore for whatever the fishermen would sell – it's really fresh fish, literally fresh from the boat,” she recalled.
Mealtimes were central in the childhood of Padasas and her siblings, who both live in the Philippines and help care for their parents; her brother is an engineer and her older sister is a teacher. Food was and remains a focal point for sharing and connecting, within their household and across the culture.
“When I was growing up, my parents made sure we were spending time as a family, eating together during dinner and sharing special meals on weekends,” Padasas said.
Chance encounter leads to an Extension career
Padasas returned to the Manila metro area for college, at the University of the Philippines Dilliman, where she earned a bachelor's degree in special education. After working as a special ed teacher for about seven years, she went to graduate school at Ateneo de Manila University for her master's in developmental psychology.
Originally intending to pursue a career as a child psychologist, Padasas said her path changed when she met Maria de Guzman, a University of Nebraska professor and Ateneo de Manila alumna, who returned to her alma mater to present her research on “yayas” – live-in caregivers for children in the Philippines.
Intrigued by that study, Padasas leaped at the opportunity to pursue a Ph.D. with de Guzman at Nebraska, where she would write her doctoral dissertation on social capital – such as personal relationships and networks – as predictors of college success for underrepresented minority students.
It was also de Guzman, herself an Extension specialist, who guided Padasas on that career track.
“I knew at that time I wanted to work in Extension, but it was a vague concept to me because in the Philippines we don't have Extension as part of the university,” Padasas explained. “Dr. de Guzman was the one who really introduced me to Extension.”
During graduate school in Nebraska, Padasas gained valuable experience working with a diverse range of ethnic minorities and refugees, including Latinos, Filipinos, Yazidis and Congolese. She especially enjoyed working with children and teens – a favorite aspect of her work that continues to this day. Padasas said that, when given the opportunity to discuss her academic background, she mentions her educational experience to young people.
“I always make sure to talk about my work as a research scientist – to encourage these kids, especially those from underrepresented minority groups, to see themselves in my shoes, to show them that: ‘You could also become like me, a person of color, a researcher, and that's not an impossible path for you,'” Padasas said.
That academic track – and her entire life's journey – have prepared Padasas well for her current role, within an organization that spans the state of California and all its diverse communities.
“I think that's the beauty of the work that we do at UC ANR,” she said. “We are provided with so many opportunities to connect and to create impact for so many people across different populations.”
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