- Author: Brianna Aguayo Villalon
- Editor: Danielle Lee
California Agriculture, the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources research journal, has published a special issue on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to inform Cooperative Extension programming and local, state, and federal policy to improve population health, food security, economic resilience, equity, and sustainability throughout the state and food system. The special issue was developed by Nutrition Policy Institute director, Lorrene Ritchie alongside Marcel Horowitz a UC Cooperative Extension community nutrition and health advisor, and Gail Feestra, UC ANR emerita and the former UC Sustainable Agriculture...
- 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...
- Author: Brianna Aguayo Villalon
- Editor: Lorrene Ritchie
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP nationally, and commonly known as CalFresh in California, gives approximately 3.3 million college students access to essential food assistance. However, an estimated 57% of SNAP-eligible students do not enroll. The research team conducted individual and group interviews from February 2020 and December 2021 through Zoom to gain insight into the student SNAP application process from the perspective of CalFresh county agency workers. Through this qualitative approach, the research team aimed to better understand the student SNAP application process from the perspective of county agency workers. The study identified 5 central themes, in which county agency workers...
- Author: Danielle Lee
- Editor: Wendi Gosliner
- Editor: Lorrene D Ritchie
More Americans are now sick with diet-related conditions than are well. In the American Journal of Public Health's special issue on "Policies and Strategies to Increase Equitable Access to Family Nutrition," Lorrene Ritchie and Wendi Gosliner of the Nutrition Policy Institute advocate for bold action to improve the health and diets of all Americans. Their editorial entitled “Bold Action Needed for Equitable Access to Nutrition Assistance by All” along with the supporting research featured in the special issue emphasize that while federal nutrition assistance helps one in four...
Lauren Au, Nutrition Policy Institute affiliated researcher and assistant professor of nutrition at the University of California, Davis, received the 2023 Huddelson award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation. The award recognizes dietitians who were the lead author of a peer-reviewed article that made important contributions to the field of dietetics. The award is named for Mary Pascoe Huddleson, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics editor from 1927 to 1946. The honored article, “A Qualitative Examination of California...