The main goal of my comps project is turn my on-campus club into a service organization by the end of next semester (a goal that was stated in the constitution on the club). There will also be a hefty written/ research and multi-media component.
The focus of my research will be School Lunch Policy—its founding, history, present-day situation as well as what other countries are doing in the realm of school lunch. I plan to interview long-time cafeteria managers in the area on the challenges they have faced in the last few decades—from cultural changes in American eating habits to budget cut-backs and changing ideas on what healthy and nutritious mean.
My club is FEAST (Food, Energy and Sustainability Team). It started last semester as just a few of us clamoring for an on-campus vegetable garden—to raise awareness about the environmental impacts of our current food systems as well as the health and class issues associated with our dependence on a terrible food distribution system. Eight months later (and many, many hours of labor!) we have finally established a garden on the lawn in front of the UEP building. The garden consists of seventeen 4x8 raised beds as well as an extensive composting program. We have built relationships with many organizations on campus from the UEP department to campus dining and administrators (any everyone in between). We have over 300 members on our mailing list, 40 of who come to events regularly.
As exciting as completing the garden is we need to stay focused on our original mission—to raise awareness and educate through hands-on learning both within the Oxy community and in the LA community. We have accomplished a lot on campus in this regard and I feel that before I graduate I want to complete the final mission which involves connecting with local schools.
Luckily, UEPI just finished building a new Farm 2 School curriculum that we hope to implement in the garden. I have partnered with a grad student at UCLA who just received a grant for this type of work and she will be using our work-force of dedicated gardener/ educators to work in low-income schools that already have gardens but are finding their pockets empty for these types of programs this year. In addition to these two programs I aim to expose elementary students to local farmers’ markets. When I think about what really gets me excited about healthy eating and cooking it truly is the farmers’ market. The music, the colors, the smells, the free samples all culminate in a truly inspiring experience. Through my job working at a local CSA I have made connections with many local farmers who would love to get on board with this project.
I realize there are liability issues with this type of project. Having already worked closely with risk management on various issues I feel there are ways to make this project a reality. Through partnerships with Neighborhood Partnership Program, an existing service organization on campus, and Teach for America (to which I have a few connections) as well as the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute I believe FEAST can really make this work.
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