California Agriculture

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for education in disease transmission and prevention. In response, the University of California 4-H Youth Development Program implemented a virtual epidemiology project, based on resources developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and collaborating agencies. The teenage participants were actively engaged in group lessons focused on epidemiology, immunology, vaccination, zoology, prevention strategies, related careers, and health communication. Surveys administered before and after the program showed an increase in knowledge about vaccinations and disease transmission and improved attitudes toward, and intentions to adopt, practices that reduce the spread of disease. They also showed increased self-efficacy and positive health behaviors (hand washing and mask use, and the intention to share what they learned in their communities). These findings contribute to the development of public health and epidemiological education programs for adolescents and programming that elevates youth as messengers of health information.

Nutrition educators at the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) have been engaging low-income youth in youth-led participatory action research (YPAR) for several years. During COVID-19, these educators transitioned from in-person to online YPAR programming. Delivering the YPAR program online presented challenges but also fostered new strategies and provided benefits. This study assesses the challenges, strategies and benefits of online YPAR programming, and it examines future program implications from the perspectives of both nutrition educators and youth. Qualitative interviews were conducted via Zoom with eight nutrition educators who attempted to implement YPAR programming during the 2020–2021 school year. We used a retrospective Qualtrics survey to gain information from 54 youth participants. We found that online facilitation encouraged the innovative use of technology, which was especially important because it allowed teams to connect with each other during tumultuous times. This online format made meetings easier in terms of planning, documentation and logistics. However, the online format presented particular challenges, such as coping with internet and technology difficulties and trying to sustain authentic engagement among participants without in-person interactions. Consequently, 50% of nutrition educators and 45% of youth respondents said they preferred a mix of in-person and online meetings for future YPAR programming.

COVID-related school closures had a big impact on millions of children nationwide, many of whom rely on schools for healthy meals. An online survey of 3,297 fourth- and fifth-grade students in 67 California school sstudied the dietary habits of schoolchildren during the pandemic. The results showed that students who ate one or two school meals a day had significantly higher intakes of vegetables, whole fruits, and 100% fruit juice, compared to students who did not eat school meals. Specifically, students who ate one school meal a day ate more beans and orange vegetables, while those who ate two school meals a day consumed a wider variety of vegetables, including beans and orange vegetables. However, children who ate one school meal a day drank more fruit drinks and flavored milks than those who did not eat school meals. Further, students who ate two school meals consumed more fruit drinks, flavored milks, and sports and energy drinks than those who did not eat school meals. Our findings suggest that, while school meals were an important source of fruits and vegetables during the pandemic, more needs to be done to reduce consumption of sugary drinks.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented spikes in food insecurity. In California, food banks, which were already facing high demand for emergency food assistance, rallied federal, state and local resources to help meet the challenges of the pandemic. Our study draws on interviews with food banks and their partners approximately one year into the pandemic to learn how they responded to enormous challenges in staffing, procurement, distribution and infrastructure. These interviews captured lessons for resilience planning and food security policy that might otherwise have been lost. We found an encouraging story of resilience, and a story of how government agencies and community networks can work together to create and strengthen food security policies, even under the most dire circumstances.

Gardening offers a range of benefits, from food production to social connection to improved mental and physical health. When COVID-19 struck, interest in gardening soared, but it was unclear whether and how gardens would deliver these benefits in the midst of a global pandemic. We analyzed survey responses from 603 home and community gardeners across California, collected between June and August 2020, to assess trends in pandemic gardening. Gardeners highlighted the importance of gardens as therapeutic spaces where they could escape the stress of the pandemic, and as safe outdoor places for socializing. The study also revealed people's concerns about food supply, along with an accompanying interest in growing their own food to increase food security and self-sufficiency. The pandemic posed challenges for home gardeners, though, with 62% struggling to access gardening supplies. These findings suggest the importance of providing garden space, resources, and support, especially to those populations with the least access to green space, so that gardens can serve as resources to improve community health, food security, and resiliency during future disasters.

What barriers and opportunities did low-income consumers face in shopping at farmers markets during COVID-19? To answer this question, we observed purchasing practices in Sonoma and Marin counties in Northern California, organized focus groups, and analyzed data from CalFresh and Market Match, which are public programs to support food access. We found that expanded federal food benefits during the pandemic increased financial access to farmers markets for low-income consumers, resulting in increased CalFresh and Market Match sales. While some consumers perceived outdoor shopping as safer, others were unsure whether farmers markets were strictly following pandemic precautions. Further, broader changes to shopping practices as a result of the pandemic indirectly impacted consumers’ interest in shopping at farmers markets. To make farmers markets more accessible now and in preparation for future disasters, we recommend increasing awareness of farmers markets among low-income communities, strengthening public nutrition benefits that can be used at farmers markets, and linking public and nonprofit organizations that promote access to healthy food with farmers markets.

The challenges faced by organic vegetable farmers in California during the COVID-19 pandemic included uncertainty about food safety rules and best practices, availability of workers, and significant changes to their markets. When the pandemic began, we built on an ongoing interdisciplinary research project with organic vegetable farmers on the California Central Coast to track how those growers adapted to the crisis. We conducted surveys in April 2020 and January 2021 to determine impacts on farmers and how farm size, market channels, and management strategies influenced a farm's ability to adapt to and recover from pandemic-induced disruptions. We found that mid-sized farmers with flexible and diverse marketing channels could navigate changes from the pandemic with minimal losses and, in some cases, economic gains. By contrast, smaller farmers with limited resources, especially those with disadvantaged backgrounds and limited access to technology, experienced more drastic impacts, including lost markets, labor shortages, and increased childcare needs. The lessons learned can inform a transition toward more sustainable, resilient agroecological systems.

During COVID-19, California small farmers and ranchers suffered significant disruptions and shifts in the marketplace, marked by a loss in wholesale outlets and an increase in demand for direct-to-consumer sales. This study examines how agritourism operators responded to the challenges and opportunities created by the pandemic. In 2021 and 2022, in the midst of the pandemic, the UC ANR Agritourism Program held a series of trainings for California farmers interested in starting or expanding agritourism enterprises. Some of the key themes that emerged from the trainings were that farmers had to shift their operations to ensure social distancing and reduced crowd sizes, while at the same time, they experienced an unprecedented demand for direct-to-consumer sales and on-farm visits. Agritourism, in varying degrees, contributed to the resiliency of most of the participants in our study. Moving forward, it would be worthwhile for researchers, agricultural professionals, and decision-makers to examine equity in agritourism and agritourism’s role as a risk-management strategy to help mitigate other types of disruptions in the future. Our findings also point to the need to provide farmers with technical assistance around e-commerce and sustainable business planning.

In this special issue, California Agriculture features articles on lessons learned during the COVID-19 “natural experiment” to inform Cooperative Extension programming and local, state and federal policy to improve population health, food security, economic resilience, equity and sustainability throughout the state and food system.