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Two UC students named Global Food Initiative Fellows with UC ANR

University of California students Anna Rios and Conor McCabe have been selected as Global Food Initiative fellows for UC Agriculture and Natural Resources during the 2021-22 school year. Their projects will involve working with campus-based academics, UC Cooperative Extension professionals, and staff to conduct research and communications to improve food security, nutrition and agriculture sustainability for communities across California. Rios is a senior in molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley. Rios is originally from the small rural town of Williams, about two hours north of the Bay Area. In her home community, she noticed the prevalence of packaged and processed foods, along with health burdens present. Coming into college, Rios had no interest in research, but this slowly shifted as she gained more exposure to research through her involvement with Lorrene Ritchie, director of the Nutrition Policy Institute. In this upcoming year, she will work on two GFI projects...

CalFresh participants welcome texts on benefits of California-grown produce

Partnering for California   The buzz or chirp of an incoming text message started some San Diego County residents on the path to a healthier diet during this past year. In September 2020, most CalFresh participants in the county – more than 172,000 households – began receiving monthly text messages about the benefits of California-grown fruits and vegetables as part of a pilot program. This novel approach to delivering nutrition messages to California food assistance program participants was developed by a partnership of the Nutrition Policy Institute of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, the UC San Diego Center for Community Health and the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, which administers CalFresh in the county. The HHSA, which had been using its text messaging platform to send administrative reminders and alerts, was receptive to using the tool for sending nutrition-focused information. NPI and CCH partnered with ideas42,...

UC ANR recruits 10 more UCCE academics, more job openings to come

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources is releasing 10 more UC Cooperative Extension academic positions for recruitment.  “These positions are made possible by the historic 2021-22 state budget increase Governor Newsom approved in July,” said Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources. “We are grateful that the governor and so many California legislators recognize the benefits of reinvesting in UC ANR research and extension to address critical needs across our state.” The newly released positions include: Orchard Systems Area Advisor, Tehama County Nut Crops Advisor, Merced County Invasive Weed & Restoration Ecology Specialist, UC Davis Water Justice Policy and Planning Specialist, UC Berkeley Nutrition, Family, and Consumer Science Advisor, Central Sierra Multicounty Partnership Nutrition, Family, and Consumer Sciences Advisor, Tulare County supporting the lower San Joaquin Valley region Fire Advisor,...

New guide shows how elderberry activates hedgerows, ecologically and commercially

A farm-edge hedgerow can be more than a boundary or barrier. When it comprises blue elderberry, it can be a way to integrate biodiversity in an often-simplified agricultural landscape – and connect with a legacy of stewardship and use by California's Native peoples. A new guide, published by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, provides detailed instructions and advice for California farmers on growing, harvesting and marketing blue elderberry. It is available as a free download in the UC ANR catalog at https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/Details.aspx?itemNo=8709. “It's the only publication of its kind, that we know of, that focuses on commercial production of a native species from within a hedgerow, which people normally think of as a conservation feature,” said Sonja Brodt, one of the publication's authors and associate director of UC ANR's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. In addition to illustrating the plant's many ecological benefits,...

To grow vegetables locally, Second Harvest partners with UC South Coast REC

Partnering for California A.G. Kawamura to grow produce at UC South Coast Research and Extension Center for Orange County food bank Driven to provide consistent access to nutritious food for residents in Orange County, Second Harvest Food Bank is exploring new fields of possibility – fields amounting to 45 acres at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources' South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine. With grower A.G. Kawamura, Solutions for Urban Ag chairman and former California secretary of Food and Agriculture, the food bank recently planted its first cabbage transplants to generate a steady flow of fresh, locally grown produce for its pantry network. Harvest Solutions Farm is expected to produce 40,000 pounds of cabbage per week as of Nov. 18 when the first harvest is expected to take place. When all 45 acres are fully planted, they are anticipated to yield 160,000 pounds of produce per month. “Fresh produce is so important to the...

For information, contact

Norma De la Vega
Title: Broadcast Communications Specialist III
Unit: Communication Services and Information Technology
Address:
University of California, Riverside
ANR News & Information Outreach in Spanish
4501 Glenwood Drive
Riverside, CA 92501-3000
Phone: (951) 827-9541
Fax: (951) 781-2171
Email: ndelaveg@ucanr.edu

Pamela Kan-Rice
Title: Assistant Director, News and Information Outreach
Specialty: Working with the news media in public information.
Unit: Communication Services and Information Technology
Address:
2801 Second Street
Room 180
Davis, CA 95618-7779
Phone: (530) 750-1221
Fax: (530) 756-1079
Email: pam.kanrice@ucanr.edu

Lisa M. Rawleigh
Title: Administrative Assistant III
Unit: Communication Services and Information Technology
Notes: AsisTel de la UC: http://asistel.ucanr.org
Address:
University of California, Riverside
ANR News & Information Outreach in Spanish
4501 Glenwood Drive
Riverside, CA 92501-3000
Phone: (951) 827-9540
Fax: (951) 781-2171
Email: lrawleigh@ucanr.edu

Liz Sizensky
Title: Social Media Strategist
Specialty: strategic communications, social media, editing, writing, Connected newsletter
Unit: Communication Services and Information Technology
Address:
2801 Second Street
Davis, CA 95618-7779
Phone: (415) 635-7380
Email: lizsizensky@gmail.com

Ricardo A. Vela
Title: Program Manager
Specialty: Video production, Video editing, Photography, Latino Community,Spanish Media, How to reach to Latinos,Bilingual (English - Spanish) Bicultural.
Unit: Communication Services and Information Technology
Address:
University of California, Riverside
ANR News and Information Outreach in Spanish
4501 Glenwood Drive
Riverside, CA 92501-3000
Phone: 951-827-9545
Fax: 951-781-2171
Email: rvela@ucanr.edu

Jeannette E. Warnert
Title: Communications Specialist
Specialty: Writing
Unit: Communication Services and Information Technology
Address:
Agriculture and Natural Resources
UC Kearney Research and Extension Center
9240 S. Riverbend Ave.
Parlier, CA 93648
Phone: (559) 240-9850
Fax: (559) 646-6593
Email: jewarnert@ucanr.edu