Dairy Council of California is proud to announce that one of our articles was recently published in the esteemed Journal of School Health. The article, titled “Collaborative Strategies to Improve Nutrition Security and Education: Lessons Learned During a Pandemic,” was co-authored by staff members and registered dietitian nutritionists Ashley Rosales, Shannan Young, Tracy Mendez, Kristal Shelden and Megan Holdaway. The article addressed issues of nutrition security that arose during the pandemic and the solutions Dairy Council of California implemented to improve nutrition and food access in the school environment.

“The COVID-19 pandemic intensified nutrition disparities for underserved populations as resources became more difficult to obtain. The ability to access nutritious foods and continue to develop healthy eating habits became more important than ever. Our Let’s Eat Healthy Initiative created a platform of information and resource accessibility,” stated Dairy Council of California Officer of Partnerships and Programs Shannan Young.

Solutions discussed in the article included:

• Improving access to school meals during the onset of the pandemic
• Innovating to make nutrition and agriculture education more accessible during extended school closures
• Integrating nutrition education and food access through partnerships

“We learned that now more than ever collaboration and idea sharing with partners is paramount to success during the pandemic and beyond. Having our article published in a periodical as well respected as the Journal of School Health amplifies our ability to share what we learned and hopefully continue to benefit others,” stated Dairy Council of California Nutrition Science Officer Ashley Rosales. 

The Let's Eat Healthy initiative is grounded in the Individual plus Policy, System, and Environmental (I + PSE) model, which uses a collaborative approach to implement policies, systems, and environments that promote nutrition and health while strengthening individual knowledge and behavior.

To view the article in its entirety, visit https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josh.13247.