A multi-pronged approach to improve college students’ food security
What is the issue?
College students across the nation are struggling to meet their basic food needs. Across the University of California (UC) system of 280,000 students, 38% of undergraduate students and 20% of graduate students report food insecurity.
As part of the UC Global Food Initiative, in 2015 the Nutrition Policy Institute identified student food insecurity as a UC systemwide problem, prompting the UC Regents and campuses to collectively address the issue. All 10 UC campuses now have on-site basic needs centers, providing food, emergency housing, and support services. UC system and campus working groups recognize that meeting the basic needs, such as food, is a multidimensional challenge.
In response to the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, which called for national efforts to reduce diet-related disease and food insecurity, UC committed to cut the proportion of students facing food insecurity in half by 2030. Campuses will partner with local counties to maximize enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (also known as CalFresh), provide food for students who do not qualify for CalFresh, and allocate campus food resources to historically underserved student populations.
NPI’s collaborative researchers continue to monitor the impact of these efforts, in addition to other interventions such as supporting students in building basic culinary skills, to improve food security.
Why is this important?
Multiple strategies are needed to address student food insecurity. For example, UC Berkeley employs an expanded food pantry, an on-campus CalFresh enrollment program, and a 14-week course on Personal Food Security and Wellness with a Teaching Kitchen laboratory component.
Sarah Minkow, MS, RDN, who teaches the Personal Food Security and Wellness course at UC Berkeley, shared that students learn about nutrition and gain culinary skills through the Cal Teaching Kitchen. The curriculum is designed with consideration for the time, cost, and convenience of healthy eating. Discussions include food safety, calculating nutrient needs, mindful eating, and reading nutrition labels. The Teaching Kitchen laboratory brings the lessons to life through knife skills, no-cook cooking, microwave cooking, and sheet pan meals.
Minkow enthusiastically highlighted her students’ “overwhelmingly positive [response to the] lecture and lab,” suggesting the benefits of an interactive learning environment to garner student engagement. “Students often give feedback that they wish this was a required course for all UC Berkeley students,” Minkow says. She noted one barrier to reaching more students: capacity of the Teaching Kitchen space.
Susana Matias, a Cooperative Extension specialist at the UC Berkeley Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology and collaborative researcher with the NPI, evaluated the impact of the Personal Food Security and Wellness Course at UC Berkeley. Matias reported that increasing food literacy and culinary skills among students has shown to increase intake of fruits and vegetables, and frequency of cooking, and reduce the number of skipped meals. Her study on the impact of the 14-week nutrition course also found a significant decrease in student food insecurity.
Across the UC System, students are benefiting from their campus Teaching Kitchens, including UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Los Angeles, and UC Riverside. Other campuses such as UC San Diego, UC San Francisco, UC Santa Cruz and UC Santa Barbara offer basic student cooking classes as well. What can I do?
- If you are a UC student, visit your Basic Needs Center to learn more about campus resources to support you in accessing healthy food and learning basic food preparation skills.
- Learn more about UC’s efforts to improve student food insecurity at the UC Basic Needs Initiative website.
- If you are interested in research, visit the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative published research page.
- Explore the Food is Medicine Map to learn about the Teaching Kitchen facilities near you, and add your program to the map.
- Engage with the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative by subscribing to their mailing list and participating in monthly webinars.
For more information, please contact Katherine Lanca at klanca@berkeley.edu.
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News
Announcements
- Welcoming Miranda Westfall to the Nutrition Policy Institute as the Director of the CalFresh Healthy Living Evaluation Unit
- NPI welcomes policy analyst Kassandra Bacon
- Wendi Gosliner honored by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Susie Nanney Culture of Health Champion Award
- NPI job opening: Research Data Analyst
Conferences & Events
- NPI researchers present at Annual CACFP Conference on drinking water and benefits and barriers child care providers experience in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
NPI in the Media
New Projects
- NPI receives grant to evaluate the impact of the California Fruit and Vegetable pilot on farmers markets and CalFresh shoppers
NPI Research
- Qualitative study reports increased fruit and vegetable consumption after a COVID-related increase to WIC Cash Value Benefit
- New data brief shows why WIC participants support the extension and permanency of the cash value benefit for purchasing fruits and vegetables
- California school foodservice professionals report benefits and challenges of providing school meals to all students free of charge during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Evaluating the implementation of Universal School Meals during and beyond COVID-19 in Maine
- Researchers target teacher perceptions of school meals to increase student school meal participation
- School drinking water lead testing programs present opportunities for policy improvement
- New study assesses the impact of socioeconomic stressors on health outcomes among caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic
- 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
- Research brief on study that identified limited implementation of California’s Healthy Default Beverage law
For a complete list of NPI news, please visit http://npi.ucanr.edu/news/.
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NPI Publications and Reports
Impact of a teacher intervention to encourage students to eat school lunch
Thompson HR, Machado SS, Madsen KA, Cauchon-Robles R, Neelon M, Ritchie L. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, volume 19, issue 18, article 11553, 14 September 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811553
Providing School Meals to All Students Free of Charge During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: Challenges and Benefits Reported by School Foodservice Professionals in California
Zuercher MD, Cohen JFW, Hecht CE, Hecht K, Ritchie LD, Gosliner W. Nutrients, volume 14, issue 18, article 3855, 17 September 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14183855
Research Brief: School Meals for All in California: Benefits and Challenges During COVID and Beyond as Reported by School Food Services
Hecht C, Zuercher M, Hecht K, Gosliner W, Ritchie L. University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Nutrition Policy Institute. 23 August 2022.
Data Brief: WIC participants support the extension and permanency of the Cash Value Benefit (CVB) for fruits and vegetables
Yepez CE, Ritchie LD, Anderson CE, Tsai MM, Au LE, Meza M, Whaley SE. Public Health Foundation Enterprises-WIC. Nutrition Policy Institute, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. 28 September 2022.
Implementation of Universal School Meals during COVID-19 and beyond: Challenges and Benefits for School Meals Programs in Maine
Cohen JF, Polacsek M, Hecht CE, Hecht K,Read M, Olarte DA, Patel AI, Schwartz MB, Turner L, Zuercher M, Gosliner W, Ritchie LD. Nutrients, volume 14, issue 19, article 4031, 28 September 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14194031
Lead Concentrations in US School Drinking Water: Testing Programs, Prevalence, and Policy Opportunities, 2016-2018
Cradock AL, Barrett JL, Poole MK, Flax CN, Vollmer L, Hecht C. American Journal of Public Health, volume 122, issue S7, pages S679-S689, 30 September 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306961
Pandemic-related socioeconomic disruptions and adverse health outcomes: a cross-sectional study of female caregivers
Brown EM, Fernald LCH, Hamad R, Hoskote M, Jackson KE, Gosliner W. BMC Public Health, volume 22, article 1893, 11 October 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14287-2
Research Brief: Study in SNAP-Ed eligible communities finds that limited implementation of California’s Healthy Default Beverage law for kids’ meals sold online may limit the law’s effectiveness
Thompson HR, Strochlic R, Singh S, Plank K, Martin A, Woodward-Lopez G. California Department of Public Health, CalFresh Healthy Living. Nutrition Policy Institute, University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources. 21 October 2022.
Child and Adult Care Food Program Participation Benefits, Barriers and Facilitators for Independent Child Care Centers in California
Lee DL, Homel Vitale E, Marshall SK-D, Hecht C, Beck LT, Ritchie LD. Nutrients, volume 14, issue 21, article 4449, 22 October 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14214449
Research Brief: Child and Adult Care Food Program Participation by Independent Childcare Centers and Their Sponsors: Benefits and Challenges
Lee DL, Hecht C, Homel Vitale E, Marshall SK-D, Ritchie LD. Nutrition Policy Institute, University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources. CACFP Roundtable. 26 October 2022.
Benefits and Challenges of CACFP Participation for Independent Child Care Centers and Sponsors: Research Report for the California Department of Social Services
Lee DL, Hecht C, Ritchie LD, Marshall S K-D, Homel Vitale E. Nutrition Policy Institute, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. CACFP Roundtable. 27 October 2022.
For a complete list of NPI publications, please visit npi.ucanr.edu/publications.
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As part of Giving Tuesday, today is an opportunity to donate to the Nutrition Policy Institute to help make a difference in the lives of Californians through supporting access to healthy food and nutrition programs for millions of children and families.
Donations will support the NPI college student fellowship, which provides a first-generation student or student from an under-represented group the opportunity to gain professional experience working with our team. This fellowship is in honor of Pat Crawford, Cooperative Extension Specialist emeritus, and our founding co-director.
Please select ‘Nutrition Policy Institute’ and ensure the designation is ‘Nutrition Policy Institute Student Fellowship.’ Consider sharing this opportunity with family and friends as many employers offer matching donations.
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