NSF Convergence Accelerator Track J: Food EducatioN for Nutritional security and Empowerment in Local communities (FENNEL)

Finding sustainable solutions for food and nutrition security is very challenging because the reasons behind the lack of access to food vary greatly between communities in Arkansas. The project is being led by the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), which is located in southeastern Arkansas, an agricultural community but paradoxically a food desert because of poverty and poor socioeconomic factors.

As a historically black college/university (HBCU) and 1890 land grant institution, UAPB is well-positioned to document the specific challenges of the local community and identify government, non-profit and private sector stakeholders to converge and develop sustainable solutions. The project involves a robust set of activities to engage local communities in addressing nutritional insecurity through educational and outreach tailored approach to address the community needs.

The effectiveness of education-based interventions, including demonstrations in urban farming followed by novel methods of cooking and preserving our farm raised fresh produce, and connecting with local restaurants that are willing to participate in recipe development, testing and serving of healthier menu options will be tested. Results will be presented as case studies to other institutions of higher education and stakeholders, who can adopt this community-centered data-driven approach to develop sustainable solutions for their own communities.

Sustainable solutions to food and nutrition security have been elusive in under-served and marginalized communities, because community-specific challenges and local consumer behaviors towards consumption of healthy food is not well documented. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is located in a rural agricultural region, where generational poverty and poor socioeconomic and health outcomes are prevalent.

The region is also underserved by the research community with very little published public-health research when compared to similar populations on the eastern side of the Mississippi River. A user-centered methodology will be developed to engage the local community to document barriers to food and nutritional security, identify stakeholders and converge expertise to jointly develop sustainable and culturally acceptable solutions.

In Phase 1, survey data will be collected before and after conducting pilot-scale education-based interventions in southeastern Arkansas aimed at college students, local food businesses and the general public. Results will be compiled into case studies to disseminate this model of engagement to agriculture Extension Offices in other states to scale a method for developing culturally appropriate solutions.

This approach is named Food EducatioN for Nutritional security and Empowerment in Local communities (FENNEL). Outreach activities and participation in interdisciplinary research opportunities will improve recruitment and retention of minority students in STEM fields and strengthen competitiveness of the US workforce. Activities aimed at the general public will improve health literacy and well-being amongst underserved and minority communities.

Socially disadvantaged farmers will benefit from improved health outcomes leading to better productivity.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.