Nutrition Policy Institute

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…

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…

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…

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…

The Nutrition Policy Institute is excited to share our latest peer-reviewed publication in the Journal of Community Health, “Dietary Effects of School-Based SNAP-Ed Education with and without Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change Strategies.” This study examines how Supplemental Nutrition Assistance…

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC, provides nutritious food, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and health care referrals to pregnant and postpartum women and families with young children with low income. WIC participation improves…

Nutrition Policy Institute School Meals for All research was featured in a guest article in the summer issue of the California School Boards Association’s quarterly magazine, California Schools. The article highlights California’s School Meals for All policy, also known as universal school meals,…

A new study examining the impact of federal and state Universal Free School Meal policies highlights how expanding access to school meals can help address food insecurity, reduce barriers to meal participation such as stigma and paperwork, and improve children’s diet quality, health, and academic outcomes…