UC Davis Nutrition faculty and students recently gathered in Washington, D.C., for the 2026 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB) Conference, sharing research that explored how nutrition education and behavior change intersect with culture, community, food access, systems, and policy.
Food banks and food pantries are often the last line of defense against food insecurity. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly 13% of Americans faced food insecurity at some point in 2022. Hunger isn’t the only issue. Food must be nutritious to be beneficial. Lack of nutrients can lead to numerous chronic illnesses including cancer.
From improving healthcare access to addressing food insecurity and racial disparities, 13 newly funded public engagement projects at UC Davis will drive positive change in communities in California and around the world.
The campus-community projects were recently awarded 2023 Public Impact Research Initiative (PIRI) grants from UC Davis Public Scholarship and Engagement. Awardees were selected from more than 25 applicants across UC Davis.
As jobless rates rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, millions more Americans experienced food insecurity because they lacked consistent access to food. National health organizations recommend primary care providers screen patients for food insecurity, since not having access to enough food can lead to chronic diseases.
An estimated 53 million people in the U.S. turned to food banks and community programs for help putting food on the table in 2021. In recent decades, food banks have adopted policies and practices to make sure people not only have access to food but also healthy and nutritious food.
Brit Loofbourrow's personal experience with food insecurity has not only inspired her doctoral research and degree in nutritional biology, but also her volunteerism with the Graduate Student Association Pantry and her future career.
The Department of Nutrition provided a "Cooking 101" course in fall of 2018 to provide outreach and engagement to students in the college and to support student food literacy and security. Students were taught about healthy eating and meal planning through an interactive cooking class. The students were shown how to prepare seasonally available ingredients in a few easy and healthy ways.
In 2015 the UC Office of the President commissioned a study that reported that up to 42% of students throughout the UC system experience high levels of food insecurity. Food insecurity adversely impacts the health and educational success of our students. So, in response to this report, in 2018 Chancellor Gary May appointed a UC Davis Student Food Security Task Force with professor Francene Steinberg as Chair. The task force was charged to:
