Nutrition & Health

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…

Preserve It! Oh Dear, the Zucchini! Pickling is one of the oldest methods of food preservation. Queen Cleopatra attributed her legendary beauty as well as her health to the pickles in her diet. Roman troops were given pickles in their diet believing it would make them strong.What if you don’t have many…

Hannah Thompson, director of the University of California's Nutrition Policy Institute, spoke with ABC 10 reporter Jackson Ellison about a new California bill that would require a healthy meal on kids’ menus at chain restaurants. California Senate Bill 764 would mandate chain restaurants, with 20 or more…

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…

The Coalition of Food Safety & Sustainability, co-sponsored by CCOF and WGA, is hosting a Compost Field Day to explore how compost can be safely and effectively integrated into produce safety and sustainability practices. DetailsDate: Wednesday, October 15, 2025Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 pmLocation:…

A recent study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior explored the perceptions of elementary school parents and staff in a large, urban California school district that recently introduced more freshly-prepared school lunches. Based on interviews and focus groups conducted from May…