Food Security Commons^™

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

The Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center Giving Garden At Coogan Farm: A Practitioner Report On Community Gardens For Health And Regional Food Security, Emma Sutphen

Sustainability and Social Justice

The Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center (DPNC) is a community organization that, through its various programming, works to perpetuate a vision of humans as part and parcel of the world. In 2013, when the Nature Center acquired the Coogan Farm property, the organization built a community garden called the Giving Garden to serve surrounding communities, expanding services to the foodservice sector educational programming around sustainable agriculture. DPNC’s partnership with the Robert G. Youngs Family Foundation, United Way of Southeastern Connecticut, and Gemma E. Moran mobile food pantry, forged in 2014, has allowed the garden to minimize area food insecurity through its …

Examining Food Insecurity Among High School Students: A Risks And Resources Model, Jill Niemeier

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationships between food insecurity, risks, and resources among adolescents attending a large high school in Northwest Arkansas. In a sample of 1,493 students, in which the majority are Hispanic/Latino and receive free and reduced lunch, food insecurity relationships were first assessed controlling for a number of sociodemographic variables, such as ethnicity, gender, and social class. In addition, a number of risk and resource variables were identified at four ecological levels: individual, family, school/peer, and community. These risks and resources were analyzed using a three-step ordinal regression model in order to examine how sociodemographic controls, risks, and …

Correcting For The Inconveniences Of Cultivation: Foraging As A Food Source In Southwestern Burkina Faso, Julia Deryn Morgan

Geography Honors Projects

Malnutrition is an important public health issue in Burkina Faso where 30 % of children are underweight for their age and 92% suffer from iron deficiency. Such statistics indicate that there is a significant lack of adequate nutrition in the country. With approximately 80% of the population employed in the agricultural sector, development projects have focused on increasing agricultural production and commercializing output to ameliorate poor nutrition. However, this strategy ignores the importance of local knowledge and food traditions, most notably by neglecting to acknowledge foraging as a significant source of food. To address this concern, I seek to understand …

Monthly Food Insecurity Assessment In Rural Mkushi District, Zambia: A Longitudinal Analysis, Muzi Na, Bess Caswell, Sameera A Talegawkar, Amanda C Palmer

Global Health Faculty Publications

Background

Perception-based scales are widely used for household food insecurity (HFI) assessment but were only recently added in national surveys. The frequency of assessments needed to characterize dynamics in HFI over time is largely unknown. The study aims to examine longitudinal changes in monthly reported HFI at both population- and household-level.

Methods

A total of 157 households in rural Mkushi District whose children were enrolled in the non-intervened arm of an efficacy trial of biofortified maize were included in the analysis. HFI was assessed by a validated 8-item perception-based Likert scale on a monthly basis from October 2012 to March …

Detroit Food Metrics Report 2017, Alex B. Hill, Amy Kuras

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

This report provides a snapshot of data and information on Detroit’s food system as well as trends over time. The report includes a broad range of programs and initiatives that local organizations, the Detroit Food Policy Council, and the City of Detroit are undertaking to address food insecurity, increase healthy food access and awareness, and support a more sustainable and just food system.

Give A Man A Fish: A Narrative Approach To A Case Study Of Soup Kitchens In The Wentworth Community, Evelyn Shen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study uses a narrative approach to explore the role of soup kitchens in the predominantly Coloured and English-speaking Wentworth community. Many of the community’s churches1 and non-profit organizations host soup kitchens regularly, rotating so that there is a meal available each day of the week.

Qualitative data was gathered through volunteering with the soup kitchens as a participant observer and having conversations and open-ended interviews with soup kitchen guests and hosts. Institutional context was provided by interviews with the Convener of the War Room and the Ward Councillor, and representatives of three non-profits in the community. In order to …

The Effect Of The Expanded Food And Nutrition Education Program On Participants’ Diet Quality: Does Supermarket Access Matter?, Rachel Ann Spencer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project assesses the effectiveness of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) within the context of supermarket access. EFNEP is a national community nutrition education program that strives to give participants the tools to live healthier lives. Analysis was performed on participants from 16 Arkansas counties that completed EFNEP during 2013 or 2014. The program outcome is measured in terms of the change in Healthy Eating Index (HEI) as calculated from 24-hour diet recalls at program entry and exit. Supermarket locations were obtained from the USDA Food Nutrition Service’s SNAP Retail Locator and represent the food environment near …

Nutrition And Education In An Urbanizing Nation, Molly Pritz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Child malnutrition is a growing public health issue in Nepal, particularly in urban areas. Not eating enough, or not eating enough of healthy foods, can have life-long implications on development and cognitive ability. Because of its relevance to development within the country, many donor organizations and non-governmental organizations are working to promote child nutrition education programs. The purpose of this research is to investigate the implementation and structure of urban child nutrition educational programs involving treatment and prevention in Kathmandu, Nepal. Through qualitative interviews and field observations with three primary organizations, this research analyzes the patterns and disconnects between various …

The Impact Of A Community Garden On A Local Township, Mariah E. Reitz

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

Due to increasing food insecurity and food deserts, community gardens can increase the accessibility for those under-served populations. These community gardens can help with the mental and physical health of the public. The goal of this research is to determine if a community garden will benefit a smaller community like that of a suburban Township and to use these trends to increase community health education and availability, social cohesion, and overall health behaviors and practices. A survey evaluated overall consumption of fruits and vegetables, affordability of healthy foods, and education on the consumption of these foods as well as assessing …

The Effect Of School And Neighborhood Environmental Factors On Childhood Obesity, Yiwei Qian

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation consists of three chapters exploring the effect of school program and neighborhood environment on childhood obesity outcome using individual panel data set of Arkansas public schoolchildren.

The first chapter (Section 2) investigates how the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), a program that provides funding for the distribution of free fresh fruits and vegetables to students in participating schools, affects childhood obesity. We combine matching methodology and difference-in-differences analysis to estimate the effect of the FFVP on childhood BMI outcomes. Estimates of the FFVP effect are sensitive to different matching methods. Methods that provide a good balance between …

Science-Based Organic Farming 2006: Toward Local And Secure Food Systems, Charles A. Francis, Katja Koehler-Cole, Twyla Hansen, Peter Skelton

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Organic farming includes growing food and fiber—animals, agronomic crops, horticultural fruits and vegetables, related products—as one dynamic and rapidly evolving component of our complex U.S. food system. Even as more farmers are moving toward organic certification and participation in an environmentally sound and economically lucrative market, questions arise about the long-term social impacts and sustainability of a set of practices that has gone from a movement to an industry. Consolidations in the organic trade have brought multinational corporations to the table, as they have observed a grassroots activity that has grown by 20% per year for the past two decades, …