- Author: Michael Hsu
![NPI director Lorrene Ritchie sits with Sri Hewawitharana in the NPI conference room](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/food/blogfiles/106629small.jpg)
NPI researchers provide influential evidence that shapes federal, state nutrition programs
Of the many challenges facing humanity, nothing is more fundamental than securing healthy food and water for all. Life itself would not be possible without nutrients, energy and water – but for many...
/h3>- Author: Andra Nicoli
![Preparing to](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/food/blogfiles/50531small.jpg)
In January, more than 600 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education (SNAP-Ed) professionals across California gathered in Sacramento for the SNAP-Ed Local Implementing Agency Forum. This two-day annual gathering celebrates SNAP-Ed work, offers a platform to share lessons learned, and provides training opportunities. The 2018 theme was: “Building Power through Stories of Change”.
During one of the plenary sessions, Stories of Change: Voices from the Community, we heard directly from participants about their struggles to achieve good health in difficult situations – where time and money are limited. Listening to SNAP-Ed participants' stories of life...
- Author: Andra Nicoli
![Murals in schools visually reinforce key healthy lifestyle messages. The above mural is at Sierra House Elementary School in Lake Tahoe.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/food/blogfiles/37268small.jpg)
On paper, the charge was clear: launch a statewide effort to integrate the nutrition education programs of USDA SNAP-Ed funded partners. Address childhood obesity and food insecurity holistically, yet specifically. Do this through policy, systems and environmental approaches that will leverage community participation and resources in order to create sustainability at the local level, and do it as funding is declining in SNAP-Ed programs.
But what would this integrated effort actually look like in practice? How could a single effort weave together the many agencies, actors, and systems that influence a child's earliest years, a family's food selection, and school and community activities? How could the people around a...