Facebook
X (Twitter)
Reddit
Pinterest
Tumblr
LinkedInPosts Tagged: health
CFHL, UC and UCCE Alameda team up with UCSF for Food Farmacy
Green peas, orange carrot cubes and squares of white tofu sizzled as they were stirred into brown rice in an electric frying pan. “Smells good,” commented a man walking to the fresh produce display.
Every week UC San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital in Oakland gives away fresh produce to patients and community members at its Food Farmacy to improve food security in the community. On Nov. 14, nutrition experts from UC Cooperative Extension and CalFresh Healthy Living, UC joined UCSF colleagues to encourage Oakland residents to eat fresh fruits and vegetables for better health.
Tuline Baykal, CalFresh Healthy Living, UC Cooperative Extension program supervisor in Alameda County, and CFHL, UC community educators Mercy Mumba, Yolanda Silva and Mariela Wajler showed visitors how to prepare dishes that could be easily made from fresh produce. Mumba and Wajler cooked tofu fried rice while Silva tossed slices of persimmon, dried cranberries and spinach together before drizzling an orange juice dressing on top. They handed out recipes with samples of the foods.
Alexa Erickson, UCCE nutrition advisor for Alameda and Contra Costa counties, was on site to answer nutrition questions.
Community members could choose from a generous array of free leafy greens, cucumbers, red cabbage, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, citrus, red onions, bell peppers, chicken and other grocery items.
Through their collaboration, the UCSF health professionals and UC ANR nutrition educators hope to highlight the role of food in healthy living and California farms in producing healthy living options.
“A partnership with UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Clinics presents opportunities for us to expand our delivery of CalFresh Healthy Living, UC education to parents in places they are going to receive health care for their children – making this vital nutrition education more accessible,” said Andra Nicoli, CalFresh Healthy Living, UC program and project policy analyst based at UC Davis College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.
Nicoli worked with Antonio De Wolk, UCSF's assistant director of content strategy, and Rigoberto Del Toro, manager of the Food Farmacies at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, to coordinate UC ANR's participation in the Food Farmacy.
Foundation created to energize community support for UC ANR mission
Board of Directors to promote philanthropy through advocacy and fundraising in support of agriculture, natural resources and community health
The new University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Foundation has been established to advance UC ANR's essential research and extension mission.
The foundation – to be incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization following approval by UC President Michael Drake in October – will support programs that promote California's agriculture and food systems; natural ecosystems and working landscapes; and healthy and thriving communities.
“The establishment of this foundation could not have come at a better time, as it will inspire the vital resources and energy we need to meet the pressing challenges we pinpointed in our recently released Strategic Vision 2040,” said Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources.
Modeled after similar entities at UC campuses, the UC ANR Foundation will be guided by a volunteer Board of Directors. Representing a variety of regions and communities across California, the directors collectively bring years of experience in the agriculture, natural resources, government, academic and nonprofit sectors.
“By tapping into the board's connections, relationships and knowledge of our work and its impact, UC ANR is well-positioned to undertake significant and truly transformative fundraising initiatives and campaigns,” said Greg Gibbs, executive director of UC ANR Development Services.
The Board currently comprises eight community leaders and three ex officio members:
Don Bransford
Owner and Operator
Bransford Farms
Tom Delfino
Sr. Principal
S.S. Papadopulos & Associates
Bill Frost
UC Cooperative Extension Advisor Emeritus and former Associate Vice President
UC ANR
Anne Haddix
Co-President, Board of Directors
UC Master Gardeners of Sonoma County (Volunteer)
Corinne Martinez, Board Chair
President and Chief Operations Officer
Berryessa Gap Vineyards
Soapy Mulholland
Principal
Sopac & Associates LLC
Sharon Nance
President
NTAPROBLM LLC Inc.
Stephen Reid
Head Gardener of the Rose Garden
The Huntington Library and Botanic Gardens
Ex Officio Members
Greg Gibbs, Board Secretary
Executive Director, Development Services
UC ANR
Glenda Humiston
Vice President
UC ANR
Tu Tran, Board Treasurer
Associate Vice President
UC ANR
“We are grateful to the members of the new board for their leadership, expertise and passion for our mission, and we're thankful to the many donors – past, present and future – who generously support our work to improve lives all across California,” Humiston said.
History of philanthropic support empowered creation of foundation
It has been that outpouring of support – channeled by Gibbs' fundraising team – that enabled the establishment of the UC ANR Foundation. Gibbs was part of a nascent development team created just seven years ago, in 2017, to increase private funding from individuals, foundations, companies and agricultural commodities groups.
Within that time, the Development Services team has raised crucial funds for a wide range of impactful programs and projects. For example, philanthropic support is fueling efforts to cultivate workforce development in agriculture and related fields in Orange County, drive innovations in the “circular bioeconomy” within the San Joaquin Valley, strengthen wildfire resiliency in communities across the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and propel leading-edge research to benefit growers of citrus, grapes and other valuable commodities.
“People are seeing the true impact of UC ANR, and I think this foundation board is a testament to that,” Gibbs said. “It's a validation of all the work that's been done over the last seven years.”
In 2023, a Vice President's Cabinet began laying the groundwork for the foundation by establishing its bylaws and structure. That group comprised several current board members, as well as Andrea Ambrose, UC ANR director of advancement; Adina Merenlender, professor of Cooperative Extension in conservation science; and Kerry Tucker, chief strategic counsel at Nuffer, Smith, Tucker.
Then, presented with UC ANR's track record of robust fundraising and measurable impacts, UC President Drake approved the incorporation of the new nonprofit foundation on Oct. 2. The foundation will begin work with UC ANR leadership and staff in early 2025 to develop short- and long-term fundraising plans.
For the public, there is an immediate opportunity to support UC ANR's work – Giving Tuesday. From midnight to midnight on Tuesday, Dec. 3, visit give.ucanr.edu to donate and participate in a global online giving event.
“Just as UC ANR programs significantly improve lives in California and across the nation and world, our donors substantively improve those programs,” Gibbs said. “They believe in what we do, and they make our research and extension activities better in every sense – more impactful, more accessible and more sustainable.”
For more information on the UC ANR Foundation and opportunities to contribute, contact Greg Gibbs at glgibbs@ucanr.edu.
MSU Soil Scientist to Discuss Nematodes as "Bioindicators of Soil Health and Climate Resiliency'
Nematodes, says soil scientist Christine Sprunger of Michigan State University, East...
Soil scientist Christine Sprunger (left) and lab manager of the W. K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS), Michigan State University, collecting soil samples. (Photo courtesy of KBS)
From Butterfly Research to High-Sugar Diet Research
What does butterfly metamorphosis have to do with high-sugar diet research? Well, you never know...
UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock (seated) with Jun-Yan Liu, professor at Chongqing Medical University, China, and a former research scientist (7.5 years) in the Hammock lab.
This 2010 image of Jun-Yan Liu shows him as a postdoctoral fellow working in the Bruce Hammock lab. He is now a professor at Chongqing Medical University, China. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This archived image (2018) shows UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock (seated) with Hammock lab researcher Sung Hee Hwang (center) and former Hammock lab researcher Guodong Zhang, now on the UC Davis Department of Nutrition faculty. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Controlling Ticks Around Your Home
You might think ticks are found only on hiking trails or in wild, natural areas, but in some parts...
