All Resources
The 4-H National Directory of Materials is a searchable database of educational materials currently available throughout the Cooperative Extension System. Here you will find 4-H individual and group project materials, volunteer and professional development materials, as well as many other resources. You can search by topic area or keyword, then click on...
The new guidelines define key agreements for providing a safe, nourishing environment for teaching and learning. The guidelines booklet includes clearly written and colorfully illustrated descriptions of each guideline.
It offers helpful suggestions about what works and what doesn’t work in practice toward making schools “a place where our values...
The Berkeley Food Institute seeks to transform food systems to expand access to healthy, affordable food and promote sustainable and equitable food production. BFI is empowering new leaders with the capacity to cultivate diverse, just, resilient, and healthy food systems. The institute implements research and educational programs linked to policy...
The University of California CalFresh Nutrition Education Program (UC CalFresh NEP) operates through a joint agreement among the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Food and Nutrition Service, the California Department of Social Services CalFresh Program, and the University of California Cooperative Extension. UC CalFresh NEP consists of adult, family, and...
CAFÉ fosters research, facilitates interactions with external clientele and funders, and disseminates scientific information to the public. It strengthens linkages with the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) as well as with other faculty working on issues relevant to agriculture (e.g., climate change, invasive species, economics of...
The California Department of Education has compiled a list of resrouces, initiatives, and policies geared towards improving nutrition and establishing healthy eating habits in school, child care, adult, and after school settings. Topics include California's Farm-to-School Program and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Classroom Cooking, Competitive Foods...
Nutrition to Grow On is an innovative middle-school curriculum that offers teachers a direct link between the garden and nutrition education. The curriculum teaches children about nutrition and where their food comes from, by taking them through the steps of planting, maintaining, and harvesting their own vegetable garden.
CFPA is dedicated to increasing access to nutritious, affordable food for low-income Californians. Its school-food related areas of focus are school breakfast and lunch, meal enrollment, afterschool nutrition, early childhood nutrition, summer nutrition, and REAL (Real Eats for Academics and Life) school food.
The website features nutrition action...
The guide offers recipes, tested in schools, to support the inclusion of local, fresh, California specialty crops in the school lunch menus. It includes instructions for professional development. The recipes are presented in family-size portions appropriate for professional development and also scaled up for school-sized production.
In response to the childhood obesity epidemic, much research has been conducted on school-based obesity prevention and healthy eating and physical activity promotion and intervention. The Centers for Disease Control's new guidelines in this report synthesize the scientific evidence and best practices during 1995-2009 and combine healthy eating and...
The Center serves as a resource for UCSC graduate and undergraduate students interested in topics including agroecology, urban agriculture, sustainable agriculture, and food security. The Center reaches academics, researchers, policy makers, students, and the general public through classes, conferences, public events, tours, and publications.
The...
This website provides links to a multitude of resources, (PDFs, powerpoint presentations, and webinars) that support health and wellness. Topics include CalFresh, Urban Agriculture, Working with Farmers' Markets, Food Recovery, and School Wellness.
UC Davis established the Center for Nutrition in Schools (CNS) in response to the needs of teachers and administrators for nutrition education resources and professional development opportunities. CNS provides research-based nutrition education programs and resources that improve student health and assist students in achieving their full potential...
The Shaping Healthy Choices Program is a multi-component, school-based intervention that was developed to improve children’s health. The program integrates activities within four components: nutrition education and promotion, family and community partnerships, foods available on the school campus with an emphasis on regional agriculture, and school...
This hour-long webinar focusses on policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies for improving the food landscape on campuses.
ChangeLab specializes in researching and drafting model laws and policies, analyzing strategies for change, developing educational resources, and providing training and technical assistance to support stakeholders in...
The Chef Ann Foundation is dedicated to helping schools take action so that every child has daily access to fresh, healthy food. Its programs include Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools, Project Produce, Parent Advocacy Initiative, and Healthy Breakfast for Kids, as well as The Lunch Box, an online resource that provides free step-by-step guides, tools, and...
This website offers free resources for LA County health professionals and educators including publications and videos. Choose Health LA was a local initiative of the LA County Department of Public Health to prevent and control chronic disease.
Facebook.com/ChooseHealthLA
Twitter.com/ChooseHealthLA.
This PDF, available in both Enlgih and Spanish, teaches families through a one-year training program how to integrate physical activity and nutrition education into a parenting.
The program was found to be effective in reducing the risk of low-income, preschool-age Latino children being overweight. The authors concluded that a combination of...
ChopChop is filled with nutritious, delicious, ethnically diverse, and inexpensive recipes for kids. Winner of the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award for Publication of the Year, this quarterly magazine is published in both Spanish and English. It also has food facts, games and puzzles, and interviews with healthy heroes ranging from kid...
Food Matters provides resources for health care professionals to promote environmental health. Intended for families and communities, these resources include papers, brochures, and online videos featuring experts explaining issues pertaining to reproductive health and food. Its website includes links to relevant other resources.
Food Matters is a...
This cookbook, menu planning resource, and professional development guide helps meal services devise appealing menus around dishes that children already prefer. It offers ideas for adding more fresh, local, healthy foods to school lunches; honors California’s rich history and cultural heritage; and describes a tested plan for effective professional...
Dig is a unique student group on the UCLA campus that focuses on using student-driven research and peer learning. Through Dig, students educate one another about food, activism, health, and sustainability. Dig also works to ensure that spaces like the garden at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, near UCLA’s on-campus student housing, expand throughout the...
EatFresh.org is an online resource for CalFresh eligible individuals and families, though this website is a great resource for anyone who wants to improve their health. EatFresh.org seeks to: encourage cooking at home with fresh foods and minimally processed non-perishables, show users that healthy change can happen even when barriers exist, and help...
The mission of the Edible Schoolyard Project is to build and share a national edible education curriculum for pre-kindergarten through high school. The program envisions gardens and kitchens as interactive classrooms for all academic subjects, and a sustainable, delicious, and free lunch for every student.
Their website includes lessons designed...
About 1,500 foster youth age out of Los Angeles’ child welfare system each year. Within one year, one-fifth will be arrested or incarcerated. Within two years, half will be unemployed. Working with this population, along with adults transitioning out of incarceration and individuals who have come out of homelessness, Empower L.A.’s culinary job training...
Equity Eatz is a food justice and entrepreneurship curriculum that helps youth develop skills in culinary arts, product development, and marketing through the lens of the food industry. Through conceptualizing food access as a social justice issue, this curriculum encourages youth to adopt healthy nutrition practices and apply nutrition knowledge to food...
Evaluation for Transformation defines outcomes that farm-to-school has the potential to achieve and offers language, guidelines, and metrics to understand outcomes and assess programs. Beyond the four sectors (public health, community economic development, education, and environmental quality), the framework is structured around three levels of...
The Expanded Food & Nutrition Education Program is a partnership of the University of California, the USDA, county governments, and California residents. The program's mission is to assist low-income youth and families with young children to acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes, and changed behavior necessary to choose nutritionally sound diets and...
This article reviews the benefits and challenges of farm-to-school efforts, describing some of the innovative ways that food service directors on California’s Central Coast are working to overcome challenges by forming effective partnerships with other school districts and with food banks and produce distributors.
It also describes how efforts to...
This farm to school policy brief was written to inform policymakers and farm to school educators and advocates about the benefits and challenges faced by school food service managers as they attempt to purchase food from regional farms. It concludes with some possible practical and policy options to consider to support farm to school activities.
This curriculum helps support the education of pediatric, family physician, and medical-pediatric residents to promote the health of children and their families through healthy eating, optimal exercise, and emotional well-being.
It was developed by the UCLA Schools of Medicine and Public Health in collaboration with the American Academy of...
According to the NRDC, up to 40% of food in the United States is wasted. At the same time, one in six individuals lack adequate access to food. Food Forward presents a simple solution to this disparity by connecting surplus produce with the food insecure people in Southern California communities. They collect fresh fruits and vegetables that would...
The Food Justice curriuclum is designed to engage high school-aged youth in conversations about food environments, food as a social justice issue, nutrition, and the power of commercials and social marketing. Through exposure to concepts such as the food environment, food justice, nutrition concepts, media literacy, and social marketing, the youth are...
The Food Studies graduate certificate program offers UCLA PhD, MA, and professional school students from diverse disciplines the opportunity to investigate complex topics spanning food cultures and histories, nutrition and public health, food policy and food justice, urban planning, and agrifood systems and the environment.
A nationwide team of AmeriCorps members who connect kids to real food and help them grow up healthy by partnering with schools to help provide food and nutrition education, lead hands-on activities such as gardening and cooking, and work with school food directors and staff to integrate healthier foods into breakfast, lunch, snack programs, and more....
The Garden Project facilitates collaboration among four UC Irvine community gardens to share resources, labor, gardening know-how, food, and fun. The project is building linkages with the broader Orange County community involved in sustainable food production, particularly in low-income communities.
The project aims not only to enrich student...
The Good Food Purchasing Program transforms the way public institutions purchase food by providing a metric based, flexible framework that encourages large institutions to direct their buying power toward five core values: local economies, environmental sustainability, valued workforce, animal welfare, and nutrition. The Good Food Purchasing Program...
The Greenhouse and Garden Project is an educational organization at UC Santa Barbara that welcomes students, faculty, and staff members to maintain their own plots to garden organically.
No pesticides or harmful chemicals can be used, providing a safe environment and teaching members alternative ways of gardening. Members are able to eat fruit off...
Growing Minds (GM), headquartered in North Carolina, works with schools in 60 "Appalachian Grown" Counties. GM provides training for teachers, school nutrition staff, parents, community members, and farmers/ag professionals, as well as producing an annual farm-to-school conference.
The GM website offers lesson plans, recipes, a searchable...
Harvest of the Month is an initiative of the California Department of Public Health that features ready-to-go tools and resources that can be used in diverse applications within the school environment to give students hands-on opportunities to explore, taste, and learn about the importance of eating fruits and vegetables and being active every day.
...Envisioned and supported by Jane and Terry Semel, the Healthy Campus Initiative (HCI) is committed to making UCLA the healthiest campus in America. Rooted in UCLA's long-term commitment to fostering a culture of health and wellbeing, HCI supports the enhancement and expansion of current health and wellbeing efforts; offers new and interesting approaches...
This manual presents a general overview of how to implement a salad bar program in an elementary school cafeteria.
Based on lessons learned while launching salad bars on several Los Angeles campuses, it is designed for schools, cafeteria personnel, parents or other community members and covers the full process from planning to maintenance and...
This study evaluated the effectiveness of an afterschool program using a curriculum on nutrition and physical activity. Results showed a significant reduction in overweight and obesity among children in the intervention group.
The study was published in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. The abstract can be read...
The Kitchen Garden Laboratory uses cooking as a prism for learning science — and science as a way to understand healthy eating and nutrition. Its programs promote delicious, nutritious eating for better health outcomes, while fostering food and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) literacy.
The garden is a living laboratory for...
This research contains an assessment of the impact of legislation that established nutrition standards for foods and beverages that compete with reimbursable school meals in California. This study concluded that regulation of competitive foods improved school food environments and student nutritional intake.
On-campus foods and beverages meeting...
Drawing on over thirty-five years of work with young people in gardens, Life Lab is a national leader in the garden-based learning movement. Through workshops and consultations, they provide tens of thousands of educators across the country with the inspiration and information necessary to engage young people in gardens and on farms.
This website...
LAUSD has adopted a policy allowing schools to donate unused food to community organizations providing services to families and children. This website provides an FAQ and other information about the provisions and procedures of the policy, which was devised to avoid discarding excess food.
Making the Case is a set of tools comprising a two-minute video, a PowerPoint that users can customize for their presentations, a PDF packed with research, and an at-a-glance infographic. The tools summarize extensive research that documents the links between school food, better nutrition, academic success, and student health.
They also highlight...
This series of videos, four to five minutes each, covers a range of topics including the future of school lunch, organic farming on UC campuses, wage justice, wild bees, edible wild plants growing in cities, and the impact of ocean acidification on marine invertebrates.
The University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) provides non-formal educational opportunities to rural and urban youth and adults of all economic levels and ethnic backgrounds. Part of UCCE's mission is to develop culturally-sensitive outreach programs in family and consumer sciences, specifically targeted toward lower- and moderate-income...
NFSN is an information, advocacy, and networking hub for communities bringing local food sourcing and food-and-agriculture education into school systems and preschools. It has curated thousands of resources related to farm-to-school and farm-to-preschool.
It provides vision, leadership, and support at the state, regional and national levels to...
NEOPB is a statewide movement to improve the health of low-income Californians through increased fruit and vegetable consumption and daily physical activity. NEOPB addresses the statewide obesity epidemic through food and activity education, breastfeeding support, community development strategies, and marketing of healthy behaviors.
It works...
Our Food Chain promotes healthy eating by using media to educate and inspire parents, children, communities, and policy makers to get involved in their school lunch programs and improve the food options in their homes and in their communities.
Its award-winning hour-long documentary, which can be viewed on its website, is based on innovations in...
This educational and residential program is focused on experiential learning, sustainability, and food systems. PICA residents have the opportunity to grow their own food together, share meals, and explore ways to live more sustainably.
Sophomores, juniors, and seniors from disciplines across the social sciences, natural sciences, arts and...
Public Health Advocates (formerly the California Center for Public Health Advocacy) helps neighborhoods and schools become places that nurture health and well-being. They believe that neighborhoods and schools can be places where the physical, social, and economic conditions make health a reality for all people.
Their website features innovative...
Students in the Public Health Nutrition concentration at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health will gain perspective on the following essential questions:
What are the most critical social, behavioral, and food- and nutrition-related factors that affect health?
What are ways that the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs can...
R'Garden is open to UC Riverside students, faculty, staff, and community members, to grow fresh produce while learning about social, environmental, and economic sustainability through a food systems approach.
R’Garden is three acres that include a community garden, row crops, a Valencia orchard, and a greenhouse area. It serves as a sustainability...
A positive vision informs this planning framework: healthy children ready to learn, “food literate” graduates, invigorated local communities, sustainable agriculture, and a healthy environment.
The Guide is a downloadable PDF that explains the rationale for reforming school food and explores the ten pathways that constitute the planning...
This is an ongoing series about school meal trends, impacts of improving school lunch, and support by students and parents for healthier school meals. The studies document, among other findings, that students are selecting healthier meals, participation has held steady, food waste is down, and revenues have rebounded after an initial decline following...
Schools can use this online self-assessment and planning tool to improve their health and safety policies and programs. It's designed to be easy to use and completely confidential. The SHI is based on CDC’s research-based guidelines for school health programs, which identify the policies and practices most likely to be effective in reducing youth health...
Seeds to Plate, based out of LAUSD's Mark Twain Middle School in Mar Vista, California, believes that school garden programs foster a deep understanding of academic subjects by connecting traditional content areas to the natural world. This academically integrated curriculum was created for sixth to eighth graders using the California Common Core, Next...
Smarter Lunchrooms use easy no-cost and low-cost changes to encourage students to select, eat, and enjoy healthier foods in school without eliminating their abiliy to choose. The Movement's mission is to equip school lunchrooms with evidence-based tools that improve eating behaviors and thus improve the health of children. These interventions can also...
The Student Farm at UC Davis is a community where students work to create, maintain, and explore sustainable food systems. At the farm, students grow in many ways, learning from seasoned field-based educators, from their peers, and from themselves. They come to understand sustainability through the soils, crops, climate, and community in which they work...
SNaX is a school-based program that aims to empower students and families to make healthy decisions about nutrition and exercise. On their website, designed for students, parents, and community members, you will find SNaX materials (videos, parent worksheets, student advocate guides, and bookmarks) to help students learn fun facts about healthy eating...
SAREP provides leadership and support for scientific research and education in agricultural and food systems that are economically viable, conserve natural resources and biodiversity, and enhance the quality of life in the state's communities.
SAREP serves farmers, farmworkers, ranchers, researchers, educators, regulators, policy makers, industry...
This article includes an assessment of the potential and challenges of the elementary school cafeteria as a setting and resource for nutrition education, with evaluation of the development and implementation of a toolkit for nutrition education by elementary food services staff.
The goal of the project was to take advantage of the potential of...
The Daily Scoop is a series of fun, kid-friendly nutirition tips. They can be added to the daily school-wide announcements or to a teacher's opening routine.
The messages are designed as an easy nutrition education tool to help schools/districts meet wellness policy goals, and elevate the importance of nutrition education to a daily practice...
The Los Angeles Food Policy Task Force sees "Good Food" as the new paradigm within the food system — encouraging production, distribution, accessibility and consumption of high-quality food to build a healthy, just, and sustainable food system.
A Good Food System prioritizes the health and well-being of our residents; makes healthy, quality food...
This research article looks at how local food systems may facilitate agroecological practices that conserve nutrient, energy, and water resources. The authors estimate the upper potential for all existing US croplands to meet total US food demand through local food networks.
Transforming Corner Stores: Integrating Health, Food and Community is a guide to implementing a corner store conversion, detailing lessons learned from a UCLA initiative to change the food environment in the Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles communities of Los Angeles. The community-based program built strong community partnerships, transformed corner...
FFHI will lead the improvement of individual health through diet by acting as an engine for research, innovation, and economic development supported by competitive research programs, industry collaborations, and philanthropic funding. The Institute links diverse scientific disciplines across the colleges and schools of UC Davis, and develops regional and...
How can you improve the preK-12 dining experience and inspire healthy habits in schools? This two-page PDF summarizes projects from the University of California and it's Global Food Initiative aimed at improving school food and nutrition.
With a strong presence of the health sciences in research and education at UC Merced, HSRI is focused on promoting all research in the human health sciences to improve awareness, advocacy and action of health and health disparities.
Goals include:
- Establish health research and training as a signature theme at UC Merced
- ...
Through a series of tours and videos, UC SAREP and UC Cooperative Extension Los Angeles collaborated with youth-focused urban agriculture programs throughout the state to give youth the opportunity to share their passion for their gardens, and for the University of California and food systems advocates to see the value of and needs associated with...
This website from the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources offers resources on small-scale production, including soil, planting, irrigation, pest management, and harvesting, as well as information on the business of farming, such as how to market urban farm products.
An extensive literature review summarizes social, economic, and health impacts of urban agriculture discussed in a number of academic journals, professional reports, and books from nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies.
The project was supported by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Competitive Grants Program...
Young Chefs uses hands-on cooking education to empower the next generation with culinary skills and scientific knowledge. It develops free open-access lesson plans and teaching resources for cooking/science education. Its support for educators includes afterschool programming, teacher workshops, summer camps, and in-school lessons.
Its website...
