UW Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health

Hannah Sanders (MPH/GCPD ‘25) graduated in Aug. 2025, and now works as an outpatient dietitian at Harborview Medical Center in the HIV and Family Medicine Clinics, and is an inpatient dietitian role at UW Medical Center - Northwest. She shares her experience entering the workforce: bit.ly/4u7mbXs

Tomorrow's UW Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health seminar explores "Modeling diet quality in the Mexican National Study on Nutrition and Health," featuring presenter Alfonso Mendoza Velázquez. foodsystems.uw.edu/news-events/...

“Finding ways to identify kids and families that are at risk of dropping out of the program is of high importance,” said Pia Chaparro, first author of the study. “That’s basically what we’ve identified — a way to flag families who may be at risk of dropping off.” bit.ly/4pOMKxV @uwsph.bsky.social

Advertisement for a webinar titled 'Protecting Nutrition and Food Access for All' on November 12, from 3-4:30 p.m. CT, featuring an image of the United States Capitol building in the background.

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Tomorrow's NUTR 400/500 seminar welcomes Julie Larson from UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences and Polly Olsen (Yakama), Tribal Liaison, Burke Museum. UW students, faculty, and staff and welcome to attend. Thursday, Nov 6 from 12:30 p.m. in KNE 120 foodsystems.uw.edu/news-events/...

Meet Carmela Stewart, a UW senior and Food Systems major who is leading a new initiative at UW to unite food-related clubs and organizations to work collaboratively on addressing important food system issues. Read our recent Q&A with Stewart: foodsystems.uw.edu/profile/carm...

Join us today at 12:30 p.m. on the UW campus. Masha Vernik from the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences is our special guest speaker who will speak on seed selection and climate adaptation among organic farmers in Western Washington foodsystems.uw.edu/seminar

Promoting nutrition and well-being to improve population health is a strong motivator for graduate student Greeshma Mallya, a second year UW Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences and RDN training. Read our interview with her and learn more about her work:
foodsystems.uw.edu/profile/gree...

"Climate changed wheat" is presented by Merri Metcalfe Manning from Nutrition & Health, South Seattle College tomorrow, Oct. 16 at 12:30 on the UW campus. All members of the UW community are welcome to attend. Details at:
foodsystems.uw.edu/news-events/...

Seattle to launch first connected network of community food micro-pantries Seattle is piloting the nation’s first connected network of community food micro-pantries. Powered by UW-led smart sensor research, the project will fight hunger, cut food waste, and improve access—cr...

Marie Spiker is involved in a new NSF-funded UW pilot research project that will retrofit existing micro-pantries in Seattle with sensors to track pantry use, donation patterns, and food safety, giving communities real-time data to improve food distribution and reduce waste. bit.ly/3WezG7L

Join us for our autumn NUTR 400/500 seminar and learn more about challenges and possibilities that seeds represent in the context of climate change, globalization, and the erosion of genetic diversity. Get full details at:
foodsystems.uw.edu/seminar/

Congrats to UW Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health graduate student Kristen Evans on completion of her master's thesis defense!

September is #EatLocalMonth in Washington state! Join us in celebrating the incredible local farmers, fishers, chefs, food artisans, farmers market managers, and food systems partners who work tirelessly to bring fresh, sustainable food to our communities!
eatlocalfirst.org/wa-food-farm...

Congratulations to our graduate class of 2025! Read highlights from last Friday's event celebrating grads from MPH, MS, and GCPD programs, and learn more about student project work! bit.ly/45EUQBL

Jennifer J. Otten is a co-author of a new American Heart Association @american_heart scientific advisory published in Circulation that takes a deep dive into ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) and their impacts on health. bit.ly/41mIiMP

"It’s time to rethink how we nourish our communities," Otten said. Read the advisory here: www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/...
@uwsph.bsky.social @uwfsnh.bsky.social

UW research shows Fresh Bucks program improves fruit and vegetable intake, food security A new study from the University of Washington shows that households enrolled in the City of Seattle's Fresh Bucks program experience a 31% higher rate of food security and consume at least three…

“We don’t routinely see interventions that work that well.” #UWEpi professor Jessica Jones-Smith co-authored a new study that shows Seattle’s Fresh Bucks program boosts fruit & vegetable intake and improves food security among low-income households. buff.ly/5mVrV7k

UW professor Jennifer Otten is co-author of a new American Heart Association scientific advisory that takes a deep dive into ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) and their impacts on health. Read full details at: bit.ly/41mIiMP

Congratulations to graduate student Stephanie Du on completion of her master's thesis defense this past May!

Congrats to MPH/GCPD student Hannah Sanders, recipient of the @uwsph.bsky.social 2025 Outstanding Master's Student Award! Hannah is recognized for her demonstrated excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service. Read more about her work at: bit.ly/4mN070l

Congrats to senior student Alex Ball, recipient of the @uwsph.bsky.social 2025 Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award! Alex has worked with the UW Farm to help distribute produce to both community households and UW students, and much more. Read more at: bit.ly/4mN070l

How does a UW student who identifies as 'food insecure' navigate their daily life in food choices? Led by student capstone teams in the @uwsph.bsky.social @uwfsnh.bsky.social, a photovoice project highlights how students navigate food choices. Attend the exhibit May 28/ read more: bit.ly/45ktUan

Cristen L. Harris @uwfsnh.bsky.social @uwsph.bsky.social and @uwepidemiology.bsky.social is co-author of a paper offering new strategies for program directors and educators to use as a framework for incorporating weight-inclusive approaches into their dietetics programs. Read more: bit.ly/3FgY6su

UW project took nuisance seaweed from shellfish farm to help growers. The USDA cut its funding A $5 million grant to promote climate-smart farm practices that funded the Blue Carbon, Green Fields project was cancelled by the USDA.

The USDA cancelled a $5 million grant to promote climate-smart farm practices that funded the Blue Carbon, Green Fields project at the University of Washington.

Congrats to our senior students in the Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health undergraduate major @uwsph.bsky.social who are participating in today’s 28th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium: Harika Parimi, Lily Gela Farnham, Naya Basil Salah, and Anna Pham! Details: www.washington.edu/urs/

It’s called ‘food apartheid’ and it’s happening in Seattle A new Trader Joe’s store in North Seattle underscores a not-so-hidden problem about grocery stores in South Seattle, writes columnist Naomi Ishisaka.

Access to healthful food is a serious issue that leads to poorer health outcomes for communities of color. @uw-healthsystems.bsky.social's Jesse Jones-Smith shares insight on food inequalities and why we need to look towards the policies that influence these critical #socialdeterminantsofhealth ▶️

Evelyn Grijalva, Karen Krol, Hannah Sanders, and Miki Suarez-Thai will participate in the 2025 MPH Practicum Symposium tomorrow (April 9) sponsored by @uwsph.bsky.social the UW School of Public Health. Read more about our students' practicum sites and projects at: foodsystems.uw.edu/news/mph-nut...

GCPD students explore the cultural significance and health benefits of coffee at a recent two-hour tasting session at Husky Grind. Two students presented information about health benefits, which turns out that the cultural significance of coffee is stronger than the known health benefits.

Happy Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day from UW Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health! This day celebrates the important role of RDNs in providing food and nutrition services, and being recognized as indispensable providers of such services. #RDNday #NationalNutritionMonth foodsystems.uw.edu/rdn

Highlights from this week's FSNH Research Symposium which provided a platform for faculty and graduate students in the program to share information about their research and interests. Second year and PhD students shared snapshots of their projects.