Food Security Commons^™

The Impact Of The 2008 Economic Recession On The Food Security Level Of Veterans Relative To Non-Veterans, Galo Casals

Theses and Dissertations

Using nationally representative data, this paper aims to determine the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on the food security level of veterans relative to non-veterans. An ordinal logistic model reveals that the aforesaid recession did not have a significant impact on the food security level of veterans vis-à-vis non-veterans.

Haitian Sun And Peruvian Ruins: Service-Learning In International Development, Paige Rudin

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Development issues in growing nations can be seen and discussed in service-learning programs on Purdue’s campus. Two international experiences in Haiti and Peru reveal a need for development strategies that can be universally applied in service-learning settings. Traveling with graduate students from Lima, Peru, to study animal connection in Peruvian society and teaching Haitian university students the basics of water quality and testing allow the exchange of ideas between cultures and profound learning for both parties. Connections like these change mindsets and inspire curiosity, thus strengthening human capacity. Challenges and barriers like integrating quantitative and qualitative data from community partners …

Answering Food Insecurity: Serving The Community With Food And Knowledge Using Technology, Courtney Simpson

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

The courses of Tech120, CGT110, and ENGT 180/181 and Red Gold at Purdue collaborated to design a robot that would plant and water a garden for a local community charter school. The students centered the project on the users’ needs for fresh food, nutrition education, and early exposure to STEM for children. The school, Anderson Preparatory Academy (APA), is comprised of many children who come from low-income families and are in the free or reduced lunch program. Inspired from “Farm Bot,” a similar system that allows for almost hands-free gardening, the “Boiler Bot” is designed to be scalable so children …

Nutritional And Behavioral Repercussions Of Food Insecurity And The Impact Of Nutrition Education, Kelly Burgess

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Food insecurity occurs when an individual does not have consistent access to fresh, nutritious food in safe, socially acceptable, and affordable ways. This is a significant challenge facing Kentuckians, with one in six adults and one in four children experiencing some degree of food insecurity. The present study examines the effectiveness of customized nutrition education in improving 1) nutrition-related behaviors associated with food insecurity and 2) management of household food supply in food-insecure individuals with and without children. Participants were recruited through HOTEL INC, and one was from a household without children and one with children. A pre-assessment survey evaluated …

Planting The Seeds Of Security: The Influence Of Agricultural Products On Food Security Levels In U.S. Counties, Vanessa R. Scalora

Business and Economics Honors Papers

The United States produces, imports, and widely distributes incredible amounts of food every day. Despite the country’s abundance and availability of food, a prevalence of people with low food security levels exists. In 2015, 42.2 million U.S. citizens, including children, lived in food insecure households. The source of food insecurity is complexly rooted in the mechanics of America’s economic and food systems. Understanding that the fundamental causes of food insecurity are systemic, this study focuses on the impact of one of these potential elements: agriculture. Using economic analysis, this research explores the relationship between various agriculture products and food insecurity …

What Is The Relationship Between Food Insecurity And College Students Aged 18-22 And Its Effects On Academic Performance And How Can Proper Nutrition Be Promoted?, Karla Ramos, John Magbanua, Daniella Flores, Janelle De Dios, Karla Bugtong, Shannon Almonia

Student Research Posters

Food insecurity is defined as the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods. It can also be defined as the limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways. Previous research has observed that food insecurity can disrupt optimal development throughout the life cycle. A growing body of literature has documented the effects of food insecurity on cognitive, academic, and psychosocial development among college students. These studies consistently observed that food insecurity is associated with lower academic performance, poor health, and decreased psychosocial function. Among college students, financial hardship can translate into budget demands, …

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.

Urban Garden, Where Art Thou? A Study Of Urban Agriculture In The Dallas Metropolitan Area, Jaronda Williams

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Food security, the constant access to a variety of food at all times by everyone (USDA), is something not all Americans have the pleasure of experiencing. Beaulac et al. (2007) found evidence of disparities in food access by income and race. A neighborhood lacking access to food is what researchers in Scotland defined as food deserts in the 1990’s (Cummins and McIntyre 2002). Food deserts exist all across America leaving citizens with the hardship of deciding to travel for healthy food options or settle for the poor grocery option in their neighborhood. Millions of Americans are faced with this battle, …

Eating In East Harlem: An Assessment Of Changing Foodscapes In Community District 11, 2000-2015, Cuny Urban Food Policy Institute At The Cuny School Of Public Health And Health Policy, Nicholas Freudenberg, Melissa Fuster, Diana Johnson, Marissa Sheldon, Michele Silver, Apoorva Srivastava, Janet Poppendieck, Ashley Rafalow, Nevin Cohen

Publications and Research

The report analyzes changes in five domains -- food retail, food insecurity and food benefits, institutional food, food and nutrition education, and diet-related health conditions -- in East Harlem from before the election of Michael Bloomberg through the first two years of the de Blasio Administration. Its goal is to assess the ways in which food environments in East Harlem have improved, stayed the same, or worsened in this 15-year period in order to inform setting food policy goals for the next 5, 10 or 15 years.

Although East Harlem is blessed with a multitude of organizations and individuals dedicated …

The Human And Environmental Health Impacts Of Food Quality Among Emergency Food Providers, Alexina Cather

Master's Projects and Capstones

Abstract

Human health and environmental health are inextricably entwined, and the ways in which we grow, process, package, transport, market, and consume food are critical factors for both human and environmental health. The current industrial food system in the United States has numerous adverse effects on environmental and human health, which significantly impact the millions of food insecure Americans who receive their nutritional needs from emergency food providers (American Public Health Association, 2007). The widespread food insecurity in the United States and the increasing prevalence of obesity among adults and children have drawn attention to the role that emergency food …

Matching Missions: Hunger Relief Programs And Impact Of Food Donation Partners In Northwest Arkansas, Amy May West, Jennie Popp

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

In 2012 and 2013, Arkansas ranked first in the nation in food insecurity in both categories of “low food secure” (21.2%) and “very low food secure” (8.4%). The Cobblestone Project developed a hunger relief donation partner, The Farm, in order to help address food insecurity in Northwest Arkansas. In spring 2014, The Farm partnered with the University of Arkansas to 1) better understand the demographics and need of hunger relief organizations, 2) calculate the impact of donations to hunger relief organizations, and 3) assess satisfaction of donations from The Farm to hunger relief organizations. A series of surveys were targeted …

Snap: An Evaluation Of How Families In A Low Socioecnomic Bracket Decide What To Eat., Kate-Marie Roycroft

Public Affairs Capstones Collection

The purpose of this research paper is to look at the major factors that influence how SNAP recipients make decisions about food purchases. The secondary purpose of this paper is to touch upon whether or not SNAP recipients suffer disproportionally from food insecurity and obesity-related chronic diseases. Three sets of interviews helped to inform this study: interviews with employees at the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), interviews with researchers who have studied SNAP recipients extensively as part of their work, and interviews with nonprofit coordinators that work with SNAP recipients after they are approved for their benefits. Additional data was …

Overcoming India’S Food Security Challenges: The Role Of Intellectual Property Management And Technology Transfer Capacity Building, Stanley Kowalski, Aarushi Gupta, Ifica Mehra

Law Faculty Scholarship

The growth of the Indian economy after Independence has had little impact on the food security of the country. The paper analyses the development of advanced crop varieties through the use of agricultural technologies (hereinafter "agbiotech") within the technology transfer system, a framework which comprises of the interactions of intellectual property rights law and agricultural research and development in India. Through this, the author argues that agricultural innovation in India is failing due to the absence of connections within the technology transfer system and advocates for the creation of a national program aimed at advancing IP and tech-transfer capacity in …

Resources And Relationships: Food Insecurity And Social Capital Among Middle School Students, Don Edward Willis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between food insecurity and Social capital among 5th-7th graders attending an intermediate school in Northwest Arkansas where nearly 70 percent of students participate in the free or reduced lunch program. The central research questions are: Does Social capital have a direct impact on children's food insecurity? And, does Social capital mediate the influence of negative circumstances on children's food insecurity? This study finds that Social capital does have a significant association with food insecurity, even when controlling for multiple demographic and circumstantial factors. However, there appears to be no mediation of circumstance by Social capital. …

African Aid And Success: Four Keys, Susan Paganelli

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Aid to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has occasional success stories, but they are intermingled amongst tales of waste and failure. The stark reality is that more of the population of SSA is chronically undernourished in the present decade than it was in 1992 and 50 percent of the population is still considered to be living in extreme poverty. These problems persist in spite of the $650 billion given in aid to Africa by the world’s concerned countries since 1960 (Sunderberg and Gelp 2006). It is clear that money and good intent are not sufficient to alleviate the suffering in Africa.

Food Insecurity In Sub-Saharan Africa, Amy Rademacher

Human Rights & Human Welfare

For almost half a century, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been struggling, in one form or another, with food insecurity. This ongoing condition has been caused by a number of factors including distribution obstacles, global climate change, a lack of successful local agriculture, and an inability or disinterest to act by local officials. The situation has been further complicated by an inefficient and disorganized international response to the crisis. Although most would agree that each of these factors carries at least some validity, there is far less international consensus on the best remedy to the crisis.