Research to Action News Brief

Research to Action, the Nutrition Policy Institute's quarterly news brief, provides information on research, policy, news, announcements, events, articles and action items focused on nutrition and healthy communities.

View previous issues below and sign up to be added to the mailing list.

2022

Volume 6, Number 4: A multi-pronged approach to improve college students' food security
Volume 6, Number 3: Support universal school meals
Volume 6, Number 2: Healthy-by-Default beverage laws for kids' meals
Volume 6, Number 1: Policy recommendations to strengthen WIC

2021

Volume 5, Number 3: 2021: Nutrition Policy Institute research highlights
Volume 5, Number 2: Healthy school meals for all
Volume 5, Number 1: Supporting improved food security during the pandemic

2020

Volume 4, Number 4: University students struggle with basic needs
Volume 4, Number 3: Implementing healthy vending guidelines for college campuses
Volume 4, Number 2: Nutrition and physical activity resources during emergency times
Volume 4, Number 1: Promising approaches for healthy food retail interventions

2019

Volume 3, Number 4: SNAP is under attack: our largest food assistance program needs your help
Volume 3, Number 3: The science behind sugar sweetened beverages
Volume 3, Number 2: Turn to the tap!
Volume 3, Number 1: Ten-year study reveals that what communities do impacts child health

2018

Volume 2, Number 4: Improving access to nutritious food in early care and education settings
Volume 2, Number 3: Support school nutrition programs
Volume 2, Number 2: Improving community health, one neighborhood at a time
Volume 2, Number 1: Prevent food waste

2017

Volume 1, Number 4: Support rural food banks
Volume 1, Number 3: Medical and dental providers join forces to limit children's consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages
Volume 1, Number 2: Protect WIC from budget cuts and block granting
Volume 1, Number 1: Improve access to safe drinking water in California

NPI News Blog

Study finds that SNAP-Ed interventions modified during the COVID-19 pandemic increased student fruit and vegetable intake

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed), known as CalFresh Healthy Living (CFHL) in California, is the largest nutrition education program in the United States. CFHL supports healthy eating and active living in eligible...
New study shows variation of WIC participants’ perceptions and satisfaction with WIC nutrition education and services by race, ethnicity, and language preference

The federal Special Supplemental Nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, aims to safeguard the health of over 6 million low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 in the United States by providing nutritious foods,...
University of California researchers release new, user-friendly fact sheets on sugary drinks

University of California's Research Consortium on Beverages and Health, with support from the American Heart Association, has released six short fact sheets to help educate both community members and decision-makers on the risks of over-consumption of...
NPI job opening: Research Data Analyst

A Research Data Analyst 3 position is available at the Nutrition Policy Institute, University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, located in Oakland, CA. This position will support evaluation studies conducted by NPI through...
New data brief demonstrates how an increase to the WIC cash value benefit affected fresh fruit and vegetable redemption trends

A new research brief from the Nutrition Policy Institute and PHFE-WIC researchers shows that an increase in the WIC cash value benefit (CVB) enabled WIC participants to introduce more fresh fruits and vegetables to their diets. The CVB was increased in...
New NPI report and brief share results from the CDFA Healthy Stores Refrigeration Grant Program

Lack of refrigeration is reported as a leading barrier to corner stores stocking fresh fruits and vegetables. In 2018, the California legislature funded the Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to offer a Healthy Refrigeration Grant Program,...
NPI job opening: Project Policy Analyst 4, CalFresh Healthy Living Evaluation Unit Manager

A Project Policy Analyst 4 position is available at the Nutrition Policy Institute, University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, located in Oakland, CA. This position will serve as the Unit Manager...
The ACCESS Study investigates take-up of the Earned Income Tax Credit among eligible Californians

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) lifts more families with children out of poverty than any other social safety net support in the United States. The EITC and the CalEITC provide income support up to $6000 for qualifying economically disadvantaged...
NPI director to serve on National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee to review interventions to improve infant and toddler feeding behaviors

Lorrene Ritchie, director of the Nutrition Policy Institute, will serve as an ad-hoc committee member for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study on Complementary Feeding Interventions for Infants and Young Children under...
NPI welcomes Reka Vasicsek as new program assistant

Reka Vasicsek joined the Nutrition Policy Institute on December 6, 2022 as a program assistant. She received her bachelor's degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in French and Spanish literature and obtained her master's degree in human nutrition...
Christina Hecht comments on America’s concurrent food and water security crises in a Food & Environment Reporting Network article

Christina Hecht, senior policy adviser with the University of California's Nutrition Policy Institute, was featured in a Food & Environment Reporting Network (FERN) article titled “Why America's food-security crisis is a water-security...
Nutrition Policy Institute partners with National WIC Association and Pepperdine University to conduct survey of WIC participants from multiple states in 2023

Nutrition Policy Institute will collaborate with the National WIC Association and Pepperdine University to survey WIC participants from multiple states about their experience with WIC services to inform USDA and state efforts to increase participation...
Policy briefs elevating parent voices on the importance of school meals now available in Spanish

Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nutrition Policy Institute policy team, Christina Hecht and Ken Hecht, have partnered with a Stanford University research team and two San Joaquin Valley community-based organizations, Dolores...
NPI leads special issue on improving school nutrition and student health in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Nutrition Policy Institute researchers served as guest editors for a special issue in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) focusing on 21st-century global innovations in school nutrition to improve the...
NPI receives grant to evaluate the impact of the California Fruit and Vegetable pilot on farmers markets and CalFresh shoppers

The California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project aims to develop and refine a scalable model for increasing the purchase and consumption of California-grown fresh fruits and vegetables by delivering supplemental benefits to CalFresh recipients in a...
Research brief on study that identified limited implementation of California’s Healthy Default Beverage law

A new research brief developed by the Nutrition Policy Institute describes a study that identified limited implementation of California's Healthy Default Beverage Law (SB 1192) for orders made online. The law requires restaurants selling children's...
Wendi Gosliner honored by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Susie Nanney Culture of Health Champion Award

Nutrition Policy Institute researcher Wendi Gosliner received the Susie Nanney Culture of Health Champion Award in recognition of her work on improving nutrition for marginalized populations and promoting a culture of health in the design and...
New study identifies benefits of and challenges to participation in the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program by independent child care centers and their sponsors

The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program provides reimbursements for nutritious meals and snacks for over 4.2 million children in the US at participating child care sites. Nutrition Policy Institute researchers collaborated with the CACFP Roundtable...
New study assesses the impact of socioeconomic stressors on health outcomes among caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic caused sudden economic, childcare, and housing disruptions to families with low incomes and young children, resulting in poor health outcomes such as food insecurity and depressive symptoms. These findings are shared in a new study...
Lorrene Ritchie quoted in News Nation article on research to support the increased Cash Value Benefit for WIC participants to spend on fruits and vegetables

Lorrene Ritchie, Nutrition Policy Institute director and cooperative extension specialist, was quoted in an Oct. 17, 2022 News Nation article, “WIC extension led to fewer hungry kids; will it continue?”. The article speaks to the impact of...