Nutrition Policy Institute

When buildings have had low or no water use for example, during COVID-19 pandemic closures it is important to restart building plumbing systems safely.

Throughout the 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 to help improve access to school meals.

The federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)provides supplemental foods, health care referrals, nutrition education, and breastfeeding support for low-income women, infants and children up to age five who are at nutritional risk.

USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) impacts the lives of participants through education as well as policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change initiatives at schools, early care and education facilities, food banks and pantries, and other community sites.

Drinking water is the healthy alternative to the sugary drinks that are a risk factor for many diet-related chronic diseases and tooth decay, and plain drinking water is also more environmentally friendly than packaged sugary drinks.

Congress is working on Child Nutrition Reauthorization, which has been delayed since 2015. The previous reauthorization resulted in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA).

Researchers at the University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) presented at the 2021 Virtual Sugary Drink Summit, hosted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, on April 20-22.

The University of California (UC) Merced Farmworker Health Research Conference brought together researchers from across the country, UC officials, local and state leaders, and community members on April 9 for a virtual conference on farmworker health.

The COVID-19 pandemic had both positive and negative impacts on the implementation of the California Department of Public Health's CalFresh Healthy Living (CFHL) activities over the past year.

Over 40% of US children ages 2-5 years consume sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), a concerning statistic given SSB are a leading contributor to child obesity.