Food Access & Food Insecurity

A new Child Nourish Lab research brief examines how often California schools serve scratch-cooked, quick-preparation, and convenience foods. School meals provide a major source of daily nutrition for children and have become healthier since the implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010…

Char Potes joined the Nutrition Policy Institute at the University of California in September 2025 as our 2025-2026 UC Bonnie Reiss Climate Action Fellowship, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Fellow. Potes is a graduate student at UC Berkeley School of Public Health, where he is interested in nutrition,…

The annual CalFresh Forum brings together people from across California to discuss ways to strengthen CalFresh, known nationally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and expand food access. Nutrition Policy Institute’s policy team, Christina Hecht and Ken Hecht, guided a breakout session on…

The Nutrition Policy Institute is proud to officially launch its new logo as part of the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources organization-wide rebrand. This modern, unified design strengthens UC ANR’s identity across its programs and institutes. NPI’s new logo was designed to…

Nutrition Policy Institute researchers will attend and present at the 34th Annual CACFP Conference, Oct. 20-22, 2025 in Monterey, Calif. The conference brings together over 400 stakeholders and community members of the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program. NPI's longtime CACFP researcher, Lorrene…

California 4-H alumni Sudharsan Gopalakrishnan shares how 4-H opened doors for him to rise. He is a National 4-H STEM Mentor & Educator and adult volunteer with the National 4-H GIS/GPS Leadership Team.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, US social safety net programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP, Pandemic-EBT, and the Child Tax Credit, were temporarily expanded or created to combat rising food, housing, and economic insecurity among families. A recent study…

Socioeconomic status strongly influences children's nutrition and health, as low-income families often face barriers in meeting basic needs. To help address these challenges and reduce health disparities, safety net programs such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Special…

Report • September 2025 • Download PDF (815 KB)Table of ContentsBackgroundStudy ObjectivesStudy Design and MethodsStudy sampleData collectionIntervention and Control Group Text Messages (SMS)AnalysisFindingsStudy participantsBehavioral changes among survey respondentsPerceptions of the text messages…

Hannah R. Thompson began her role as the new director of the Nutrition Policy Institute beginning September 1, 2025. Thompson has served as NPI’s senior epidemiologist since 2020 while also working as an assistant research professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. She…