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

为粮食和营养安全找到可持续的解决办法非常具有挑战性，因为阿肯色州不同社区缺乏粮食的原因差别很大。该项目由阿肯色大学松崖分校(UAPB)领导，该大学位于阿肯色州东南部，是一个农业社区，但矛盾的是，由于贫困和贫穷的社会经济因素，它是一个食物沙漠。作为一个历史悠久的黑人学院/大学(HBCU)和1890年的土地授予机构，UAPB处于有利地位，能够记录当地社区的具体挑战，并确定政府、非营利组织和私营部门的利益攸关方，以汇聚并制定可持续的解决方案。该项目涉及一系列强有力的活动，通过满足社区需求的教育和外展办法，使当地社区参与解决营养不安全问题。以教育为基础的干预措施的有效性将受到测试，包括在城市农业中进行示范，然后采用新的方法烹饪和保存我们农场饲养的新鲜农产品，以及与愿意参与食谱开发、测试和提供更健康菜单选项的当地餐馆建立联系。结果将作为案例研究提交给其他高等教育机构和利益攸关方，他们可以采用这种以社区为中心的数据驱动的方法，为自己的社区制定可持续的解决方案。在服务不足和边缘化的社区，粮食和营养安全的可持续解决办法一直难以实现，因为社区特有的挑战和当地消费者消费健康食品的行为没有得到很好的记录。阿肯色大学派恩布拉夫分校位于农村农业区，那里普遍存在代际贫困和不良的社会经济和健康结果。与密西西比河东岸的类似人群相比，该地区的研究界也没有提供足够的服务，发表的公共卫生研究很少。将制定以用户为中心的方法，让当地社区参与记录粮食和营养安全的障碍，确定利益攸关方，并汇聚专业知识，共同制定可持续和文化上可接受的解决方案。在第一阶段，将在阿肯色州东南部针对大学生、当地食品企业和普通公众开展以教育为基础的试点干预措施之前和之后收集调查数据。结果将被汇编成案例研究，以便将这一参与模式传播到其他州的农业推广办公室，以推广开发适合文化的解决方案的方法。这一方法被称为“促进当地社区营养安全和赋权的食物教育”(Fennel)。外展活动和参与跨学科研究机会将改善STEM领域少数族裔学生的招聘和留住，并增强美国劳动力的竞争力。针对普通公众的活动将提高服务不足和少数族裔社区的健康素养和福祉。社会上处于不利地位的农民将从健康结果的改善中受益，从而提高生产力。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.