Evaluation of a Produce Prescription program in Yolo County
Susana Matias, Cooperative Extension Specialist
Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology
Applications for Spring 2025 are closed for this project.
The focus of this project is to assess the uptake and impact of a produce prescription program, implemented by a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Yolo County. We will measure the effectiveness of the program to improve food security, fruit and vegetable consumption, and weight and diabetes indicators among FQHC patients with diabetes who participate in the produce Rx program during six months. The UC Berkeley team is led by Professor Susana Matias.
Study data will be collected via in-person interviews and entered directly into Qualtrics surveys.
Training will occur in March on campus (Morgan Hall). In-person data collection will be conducted in three sites (health centers) located in Davis, Woodland and West Sacramento, and will start in April and go through the end of May. Other study tasks outside these time windows (e.g. literature review, data cleaning) could be done remotely or at Dr. Matias lab in Morgan Hall.
Role: The undergraduate research apprentice will:
- Conduct in-person interviews in English and Spanish
- Mantain a participant list in Excel to monitor participation per study protocols
- Support literature review or data cleaning, as needed
Qualifications: We are looking for an Upper Division student with the following qualifications:
- BILINGUAL in Spanish (read and speak)
- Coursework on nutrition or public health
- Responsible, RELIABLE, organized, detailed oriented, and culturally sensitive
- Able to commute to Yolo on Thursdays or Fridays; OWN TRANSPORTATION needed (gas/mileage reimbursement offered)
- Available to work a full morning or full afternoon (plus ~2 hours for the round trip) at least once a week
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Zoee Tanner, Graduate Student
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: Most study activities are to be implemented in either Davis, Woodland or West Sacramento. Gas/mileage reimbursement available.
Related website: https://nature.berkeley.edu/matias_lab/
Related website: https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/php/incentives-prescriptions/index.html