Abstract
Food waste and food insecurity present a troubling paradox found across the globe, in local communiÂties, and on college campuses. The Campus KitchÂen at the University of Kentucky (CK) is a student-led, sustainability-focused service organizaÂtion in the Feeding America Network that can serve as a local food waste checkpoint in the southÂeast region of the United States and address comÂmunity and campus food insecurity through comÂmunity-buildÂing activities. Farm-to-Fork (F2F), a free weekly meal and education program of CK, provides a case study of leveraging existing resources like student volunteers, CK infrastrucÂture, and campus partners to address college food insecurity. In this case study, we evaluate the pilot model of CK and its F2F Program. The data gathÂered consist of the amount of food recovered, the number of meals prepared and distributed, and demographics and behavioral perceptions of colÂlege students attendÂing F2F. From August 2018 to December 2019, CK food recovery and meal data were collected and an F2F cross-sectional student survey (N=284) was administered twice. The proÂgram developÂment, implementation, and evaluation of F2F relies on the social -ecological model (SEM) to capture and highlight the complicated issues of food waste and food insecurity, and the layered approach any initiative addressing such issues must take. UltiÂmately, F2F highlights how programs such as CK can expand their missions of reducing food waste and food insecurity in communities and on college campuses. CK’s economically and enviÂronmentally sustainable practices can be built upon to improve the diversion of food waste and use socially incluÂsive approaches to provide healthy meals and resources to populations experiencing challenges with food insecurity, both on and off campus, as well as educate all those involved. In turn, such an initiative highlights the need to move beyond stopgap measures, such as food pantries, in both community and campus programs targeting food waste and food insecurity.
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More From: Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
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