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Community Nutrition and Urban Farming

We all need to eat healthy nutritious food

All of the Engaged University's Community Nutrition and Urban Gardening programs grew out of our commitment to support the ecological sustainability of local communities.  They also reflect our desire to reverse the increased food insecurity and youth obesity in our local neighborhoods. 

One of the hidden problems of cities around the world today is that adequate healthy and nutritious food is not reliably available.  Many urban poor in America do not have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and people at every income level depend on processed food shipped long distances--across the country or overseas. 

In many of our local public schools, more than 50%  of the population is eligible for "Free and Reduced Price School Meals."  Some of our neighborhood schools have closer to 100% eligibility. Many local individuals and families are often unable to secure adequate nutritious food.

The Engaged University has sought to create programs that reconnect our local young people and their families to one another and to the earth, to food production, to sufficient, healthy and nutritious eating, to adequate and enjoyable exercise, to lifelong learning, and to an ethic of responsible stewardship of natural and community resources. Much of our food-related work also connects to our Community Schools initiatives and stem from our commitment to revitalize the University's land grant tradition.

Healthy Food Production is a Community Development Imperative

Cultural shifts have recently divorced many people from being involved in the process of growing food, which had been a historical constant since the beginning of civilization.  In this new century, many people do not possess the gardening and food preparation skills needed to adequately provide nourishment for themselves or their families. Our Community Nutrition and Urban Gardening programs were conceived as community development strategies under our Community and Economic Development initiative.  School and community gardens and community nutrition education are integral and important components of a sustainable food system.

Our efforts are part of an emerging international movement to relearn sustainable food production for healthier, more food secure communities.  Instead of depending on distant farms and processed foods, we aim to create a more equitable local food distribution system.  By working with allies to build networks of sustainable local urban farms, school/community gardens and cooperative markets, we hope to deliver more reliable and better nutrition to today’s cities. Our school and community gardens are a step in the progression towards establishing a local food production system that significantly contributes to the nutrition and health of our communities.

The Food Stamp Nutrition Education program (FSNE)

The Food Stamp Nutrition Education program makes important educational resources available to Food Stamp recipients and Food Stamp eligible members of our community.  The Engaged University partners with University of Maryland FSNE to offer a variety of programs and resouces to eligible area residents.  Many of our Community Nutrition and Urban Farming programs to date have been funded in full or in part with FSNE funds.  We also have received a variety of in-kind contributions of supplies, materials, equipment and labor that has been indispensible in creating our programs and building our school gardens.  We hope to expand and grow this funding and contributions to our programs in the coming years.

We have started a number of school gardens at elementary and middle schools where young people learn how to plant, maintain, and harvest a garden.  The exposure to a variety of delicious vegetables and the pride that comes from eating what they grow helps to make students more likely to incorporate fruits and vegetables in their diet.

In addition to food production, the Engaged University's FSNE programs teaches young people, their teachers, and the greater community the principals of nutrition and to cook and prepare nutritious meals. 

We work hands-on with students at a number of schools in neighborhoods surrounding the University. We also teach their teachers how to incorporate nutrition into their school curriculum.  We conduct cooking demonstrations at the Riverdale Farmers Market on how to prepare healthy and nutritious meals with local and seasonal foods, and sell the produce from our gardens at afforable prices to local residents.