- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
![A woman wearing blue gloves sacks zucchini in a metal bucket on a table of baskets of oranges, apples, broccoli and carrots.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/food/blogfiles/106333small.jpg)
Modifying Farm Bill could reduce barriers to SNAP for students and improve nutrition
Inadequate access to food can harm college students' health and academic performance. A recent University of California research study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior investigated why UC students who are eligible for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – the nation's largest food assistance program – do not receive the benefit.
“Based on our study findings, eliminating the extra requirements for...
/h3>- Author: Mike Hsu
![Patrick Range smiles as he holds up a Bartlett pear](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/food/blogfiles/102255small.jpg)
Nutrition Policy Institute, Impact Justice, ChangeLab Solutions partner with California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Serving slices of watermelon on the Fourth of July is a long-standing tradition at some facilities within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. But this July, there was something different about the watermelon offered to the approximately 8,000 residents at California...
/h3>- Author: Katherine Lanca
- Editor: Danielle L. Lee
- Editor: Lorrene Ritchie
- Editor: Wendi Gosliner
![A young boy reaches for fruit in the cafeteria lunch line.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/food/blogfiles/98179small.jpg)
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated food and nutrition challenges. Many families initially lost access to meals offered by school and childcare facilities, experienced unemployment or work reductions, and faced increasing prices for food and other necessities. National and state policies and programs provided food and cash assistance to mitigate impacts on food security. Researchers at the Nutrition Policy Institute, a research center of University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, evaluated safety-net policies implemented during the pandemic to better support families with low incomes in the...
- Author: Katherine Lanca, UC Global Food Initiative Fellow, UC ANR Nutrition Policy Institute
![A student in the Cal Teaching Kitchen sautes bell peppers in a frying pan](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/food/blogfiles/96455small.jpg)
Cooperative Extension researcher: Nutrition course a boon for UC Berkeley students
College students across the nation are struggling to meet their basic food needs. Within the University of California system of 280,000 students, 38% of undergraduate students and 20% of graduate students report food insecurity.
As part of the UC Global Food Initiative, in 2015 the Nutrition Policy Institute (a UC Agriculture and Natural Resources statewide research center)
/h3>- Author: Mike Hsu
![Person picking up container of berries](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/food/blogfiles/86175small.jpg)
A U.S. federal government shutdown can represent a minor inconvenience, a delay in paychecks, or – for people living in some of the most difficult circumstances – an extended period of hunger and anxiety.
A study published recently in the journal Nutrients provides a unique glimpse into the shutdown experiences of participants in CalFresh – California's name for the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps). Currently, about 42 million people participate in SNAP across the U.S.
In focus groups conducted in 2019 with 26...