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worker packing food at food bank

Studies show how the pandemic pushed the food system to the brink

January 9, 2022 | GoSkagit.com

UW researchers published a study commissioned by the state Department of Agriculture that focused on the resiliency of the state’s food system during the pandemic, and the adaptations made by the system.

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Preview screenshot of the WSDA Washington Food System Assessment Report 2021

Studies show extent of strain to Washington’s food access and food production systems due to COVID-19

December 14, 2021 | Washington State Department of Agriculture

A UW study commissioned by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) by researchers in the Center for Public Health Nutrition in the UW School of Public Health demonstrates how the COVID-19 pandemic affected access to food in Washington, in the areas of both food production and food assistance, and how the state can learn from the pandemic and take advantage of new opportunities.

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Close up of hands picking blueberries

Washington state food assessment report: How the pandemic has affected food access

December 14, 2021 | Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences

New UW study commissioned by the Washington State Department of Agriculture shows the pandemic’s strain on Washington’s food access and food production systems. This DEOHS blog post highlights the team’s findings.

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Photo courtesy of The Verge - Dec 22 article

Fight climate change by eating your leftovers this holiday season

December 4, 2021 | The Verge

Marie Spiker is quoted in this article highlighting the global impacts of food waste on the environment and gives advice on how we as consumers can do our part by reducing food waste at home.

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Photo of client at Auburn Food Bank

For many King County families, food aid ‘not nearly enough’ as need spikes in pandemic

June 27, 2021 | The Seattle Times

Food bank staff and public health officials predict it will take households several years to recover from food insecurity made worse by the economic instability of the pandemic. Ongoing research led by the UW Center for Public Health Nutrition in partnership with Washington State University and Tacoma Community College is highlighted.

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Marie Spiker

You waste more than $1,000 of food a year. Chew on that

March 23, 2021 | Los Angeles Times

Marie Spiker speaks with the Los Angeles Times about global food waste and new data published in the Food Waste Index for 2021 by the UN Environment Programme which assesses that the world wastes 1 billion tons of food each year.

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Sign saying Now Open UW Food Pantry

How the UW food pantry has adapted to rising food insecurity in the state

February 16, 2021 | The Daily

The Daily highlights how the UW Food Pantry is adapting to address food insecurity, and what UW Nutritional Sciences Program researchers involved in the WAFOOD survey have assessed thus far about state-wide food insecurity trends during the pandemic.

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Michelle Obama lunch program

Michelle Obama is continuing her mission with a Netflix children’s show, ‘Waffles + Mochi’

February 9, 2021 | Upworthy

Former first lady Michelle Obama to expand the work she started with her “Let’s Move” campaign which helps kids eat better and live healthy lives. A UW study published this year in JAMA by Nutritional Sciences Program researchers is noted. The study authors include senior study author Jessica Jones-Smith, Kelsey Kinderknecht, and Cristen Harris. The researchers found evidence that the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act that Obama championed had a positive impact for students who participated.

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Allen Family Foundation boosts COVID-19-related funding for hard-hit areas in Washington State

January 25, 2021 | The Seattle Times

UW Center for Public Health Nutrition research receives gift from Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, supporting the Washington State Food Security (WAFOOD) Survey, a project studying impacts of COVID-19 on food access and nutrition in Washington State.

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Food donation volunteers

New COVID-19 Grants to Boost Efforts Toward Economic and Social Relief

January 25, 2021 | Paul G. Allen Family Foundation

Paul G. Allen Family Foundation announces $1.4 million in emergency funding focused on getting the state’s underserved populations the food, child care, and stability they need most during this time. The gift includes direct support to the collaborative research by UW, WSU, and Tacoma Community College on food access in Washington State due to COVID-19.

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