Nutrition Policy Institute researchers were awarded funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Healthy Eating Research program's 2024 call for proposals. NPI's Lorrene Ritchie, in collaboration with the CACFP Roundtable and Susana Matias at the University of California, Berkeley, received funding for a project titled, “Pilot-testing a peer navigator intervention for the Child and Adult Care Food Program to bridge a gap in nutrition supports in family childcare”. The Child and Adult Care Food Program, commonly known as CACFP, has the potential to improve food security, diet quality, and financial stability for low-income families, but participation among family child care homes in California is limited due to administrative burdens. The project aims to develop and pilot a peer navigator intervention, co-designed with CACFP stakeholders, to increase family child care home claiming and retention and bridge access disparities with newly enrolled providers. Only 7 grants were awarded this cycle.

The Nutrition Policy Institute has launched three new Spanish-language web pages, designed to better serve our Spanish-speaking research participants and increase accessibility to and inclusion of the greater Spanish-speaking community. These new pages provide essential information about NPIs mission, vision, and how our research has supported major policy milestones in California and nationally, and to share existing NPI Spanish-language resources. The web pages include:

• NPI in Spanish, NPI en Español, describes NPI, our mission and vision, and our work in conducting and evaluating research related to the impact of nutrition and physical activity on public health.
  
  

• Our Impact, Nuestro Impacto, describes how NPI's research provides influential evidence that shapes federal, state and local nutrition programs and highlights contributions to several programs and policy wins.
  
  

• Resources, Recursos, includes Spanish-language online trainings, news articles, infographics and policy briefs developed by NPI. 

These pages reflect NPI's ongoing efforts to increase inclusivity, accessibility, and engagement with Spanish-speaking audiences. We invite you to explore the pages and share them with your networks.

Join us today on Giving Tuesday to support the Nutrition Policy Institute Student Fellowship. The fellowship provides invaluable professional experience to undergraduate and graduate students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, including first-generation college students and those with lived experiences of food insecurity or public health nutrition programs. By supporting this fellowship, you're not only investing in the future of nutrition policy but also honoring the legacy of our founding co-director, Patricia Crawford. Since creating the fellowship in 2019, NPI has proudly funded ten fellows whose work helps shape, conduct, and translate policy-relevant research that enriches our California communities by transforming environments for healthy children and families. Your generosity is instrumental in helping us advance this important mission. Donate today!

A new research brief from the Nutrition Policy Institute, CACFP Roundtable, and University of California, Berkeley highlights the difficulties faced by sponsors of the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program, commonly known as CACFP. CACFP provides nutritious meals to nearly 625,000 children attending participating family childcare homes nationally who are predominantly from families with lower income. Sponsoring organizations serve an integral role in supporting CACFP participation by family childcare homes, yet declining sponsor participation threatens equitable access to this program. Results from interviews with 15 sponsors in California in 2023-2024 identified key challenges. Sponsors reported CACFP administrative reimbursements are inadequate. Limited sponsor reimbursements also hinder hiring and retaining staff, making program oversight challenging. In addition, sponsors reported that monitoring visits, which resumed in-person post-pandemic, are costly, time-intensive, and raise staff safety concerns. This study underscores the need for increased sponsor funding and virtual monitoring options, to strengthen CACFP. Read the full brief for more insights.

School meals in the U.S. support 30 million students daily, improving nutrition, academic outcomes, and food security, particularly for disadvantaged households. A recent study led by Juliana Cohen at Merrimack College and Harvard University, in collaboration with the Nutrition Policy Institute and other researchers, surveyed 403 Massachusetts parents of varying income levels during the 2022-2023 school year to understand their perception of a statewide universal free school meals policy. Results showed that 75% of parents, regardless of income, supported the policy and recognized its many benefits, including reduced stress, and saving time and money. Parents also expressed concerns that ending the policy would have negative impacts, including: 1) financial strain on households of all income levels; 2) less food security for families who were eligible for federally funded free or reduced-price meals as well as for students from families who were financially vulnerable even though they would not typically qualify for free or reduced-price meals; and 3) reduced school meal participation for the most financially vulnerable students. Researchers recommend considering expanding universal free school meal policies to additional states and at the national level, as such policies improve access to nutrition across all income groups and promote equity, especially in areas of higher living costs. This study was conducted by Christina Hecht, Kenneth Hecht, Dania Orta-Aleman, Lorrene Ritchie, Monica Zuercher, and Wendi Gosliner with the Nutrition Policy Institute; Juliana Cohen with Merrimack College and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Leah Chapman with Merrimack College; Deborah Olarte with New York University; Leran Minc with Project Bread; Punam Ohri-Vachaspati with Arizona State University; Anisha Patel with Stanford University School of Medicine; and Michele Polacsek with the University of New England.

Nutrition Policy Institute, in collaboration with the National WIC Association and Pepperdine University, released two policy briefs encouraging modernization efforts for the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, commonly known as WIC. The briefs recommend implementing expanded access to online purchasing options and farmers market purchases for WIC participants and improving WIC smartphone applications to better align their information with vendor systems to improve users' ability to identify and purchase WIC-approved items efficiently. These recommendations were encouraged to reduce the stigma and difficulties participants experience while shopping for WIC foods and to increase full benefit redemption. Evidence to support these recommendations came from a 2023 survey of over 38,000 WIC participants from 19 states, one Indian Tribal Organization, and one US territory and focus groups held in 2024 with 44 WIC participants in 16 states and one Indian Tribal Organization. This project was funded by the National WIC Association from a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

CalFresh Healthy Living aims to improve the health and wellbeing of Californians through interventions that promote healthy eating and active living. Interventions include evidence-based nutrition and physical activity education programs delivered to adults in community settings, like congregate meal sites and parks and recreation facilities. In federal fiscal year 2024, the Nutrition Policy Institute, in partnership with local health departments, evaluated series-based education programs. To measure program outcomes, participants self-reported their dietary and physical behaviors on a survey before and after the program. An infographic developed by the Nutrition Policy Institute describes these adult participants and summarizes changes in their behaviors. The infographic demonstrates a number of behavior changes, including:

• Vegetable intake increased by 0.5 cups per day
• Fruit intake increased by 0.5 cups per day
• Drinking soda 'often or everyday' decreased by 58%
• The number of participants meeting the recommendation of 2+ days of muscle strengthening activity/week increased by 47%

Learn more about NPI's work to evaluate CalFresh Healthy Living.

CalFresh Healthy Living aims to improve students' health and wellbeing through interventions that promote healthy eating and physical activity. In 2023-24, 92 school and school-based after school sites partnered with the local health department in their county to implement and evaluate CalFresh Healthy Living Programming. To measure program outcomes, students reported their dietary intake and physical activity behaviors on a self-administered survey before and after the programming. An infographic developed by the Nutrition Policy Institute describes the sample of students who participated in the evaluation and summarizes changes in their nutrition and physical activity behaviors. The infographic demonstrates a number of behavior changes, including:

• Whole fruit consumption increased by 0.5 times per day
• Sugary drink consumption decreased by 0.5 times per day
• The number of students achieving 60min of daily physical activity increased by 16%

Learn more about NPI's work to evaluate the CalFresh Healthy Living program.

In her Zócalo Public Square essay, Nutrition Policy Institute researcher Monica Zuercher explores the benefits of universal school meals, a policy that gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic. With federal support, schools provided free meals to all students during the 2020-2022 school years, reducing food insecurity and stigma while improving equity and efficiency. Zuercher highlights California's leadership as the first state to continue universal school meals in 2022-2023, after federal funding ended. NPI research shows that universal school meals reduce stigma, eliminate meal debt and the subsequent burden on food service staff tasked at debt collection, and alleviate financial burdens on families, particularly in high cost-of-living areas. Universal school meals have also been associated with better student diet quality, academic performance, and attendance, making them a crucial investment in children's health and well-being. As of 2024, eight states have adopted this policy permanently. The article was published November 18, 2024 on Zócalo Public Square. Visit the NPI website to learn more about our universal school meals research.

Household food insecurity remains a significant issue in the U.S., particularly among households with children, highlighting the crucial role of school meal programs in mitigating food insecurity and improving children's health and academic performance. Nutrition Policy Institute researchers explored how food security status is related to parental perceptions and student participation in school meals. The study surveyed 1,110 California parents with children in public or charter K-12 schools from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds in California, a state that adopted a universal school meals policy starting in the 2022-23 school year. The study found that 38% of parents who were not income-eligible for federal free or reduced-price school meals reported experiencing household food insecurity. School breakfasts were accessed at a higher rate by families reporting food insecurity compared to those reporting food security. However, parents experiencing food insecurity had less favorable perceptions of school meals and perceived more stigma associated with eating school meals. Interestingly, parents from households of all income levels recognized school meals as beneficial in saving time and money. These findings highlight the importance of universal school meal policies in addressing food insecurity, especially among students who would be excluded from receiving school meals free of charge under the federal eligibility criteria. However, addressing concerns about stigma as well as meal quality and appeal may further ease food insecurity and improve child health. The study was published online in October 2024 in the Nutrients journal, co-authored by NPI researchers Monica Zuercher, Christina Hecht, Kenneth Hecht, Dania Orta-Aleman Dania, Wendi Gosliner and Lorrene Ritchie; Juliana Cohen and Leah Chapman with Merrimack College and Harvard; Deborah Olarte with New York University; and Margaret Read with Partnership for a Healthier America. This research was funded by California General Fund SB 170.