Cultivating Change: Youth Empowerment and Food Justice Education in Lorain County Farm to Club and Site-Based Gardening Programs

Science Center A254

This presentation will summarize findings and questions emerging from ten weeks of community-engaged research with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Lorain County (BGCLC), which provides out-of-school recreation, educational opportunities, leadership development, and food assistance services for youth living in lower-income areas of Lorain, Elyria, and Oberlin. In consideration of BGCLC meal programs and related initiatives, my research explores challenges shared by many school (and after-school) food programs across the nation, and potential resources for overcoming issues of social and environmental inequity embodied in the highly processed, non-perishable commodity food items available at free- and reduced-price in cafeterias. In particular, I examine the Farm to School movement, including local foods procurement efforts, and the relative merits of garden-based learning projects.