Progress 12/01/23 to 11/30/24
Outputs Target Audience:The NOURISH Target Audience who participated during year 1 are a cohort of five juniors majoring in Nutrition and Dietetics (x4) and Nutrition and Human Performance (x1) at the University of Arizona Main Campus in Tucson, Arizona. In Cohort 1, 4 students come from underrepresented racial and ethnic identities, 2 are first-generation college students, 2 are pell-eligible, and 1 is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Services. Our target audience also included 53 youth ages 12-18 from 5 counties in Arizona, including those in 4-H, who participated in the SEL component of the NOURISH Program led by NOURISH Scholars. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has provided formal opportunities for training through the course we developed, during which they receive ongoing training on food safety, recipe development, food processing techniques, planting and harvesting, among others. NOURISH Scholars also participated in a Clifton Strengths workshop with graduate dietetics students, facilitated by a specialist in the UA office of Student Engagement and Career Development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of Year 1 were disseminated at a meeting of the Tucson Village Farm Advisory Board in December 2024, through a presentation delivered by the NOURISH Scholars. PD Linares-Gaffer and co-PD Skorupski also presented about the NOURISH Scholars activities and progress at a "Farmily Meeting", which is a weekly meeting attended by approximately 30 staff and Americorps members who work at TVF. ? What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period we plan to continue Year 1 programming for Cohort 1, and continue working with our collaborators to develop the Food Science syllabus and research project expectations for the Year 2 experience, which the Cohort 1 Scholars will begin in August 2025. We will also do the following activities in advancement of the 5 project objectives: 1) Recruit and select 5 more highly qualified NOURISH Scholars to participate in Cohort 2. 2) Engage students in Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 in their community and food system through their participation in the course-based experiences. Cohort 1 will begin their food science experience during their second year in the program, and Cohort 2 will begin their engagement at TVF. 3) We will continue to support students with meeting academic requirements by ensuring that they meet with their academic advisor to discuss course schedules and degree progress. Additionally, we will continue to provide a high level of faculty/instructor support during class meetings and 1:1 meetings. 4) We will develop Scholars' professional and leadership competencies by creating opportunities for them to plan and implement culinary, nutrition and food literacy lessons to the community and peers; engaging them in professional meetings and networking opportunities; inviting them to participate in agricultural immersions alongside graduate students; facilitating leadership activities such as workshops on topics such as how to communicate their experienced in NOURISH on a resume, and many others. 5) We will prepare scholars for graduate and professional school by working with each individual scholar during their senior year throughout every step of the process including program exploration, evaluating themselves against eligibility requirements, preparing their application materials and providing constructive feedback for improvement, writing letters of recommendation, and practicing for interviews. Of note, Co-PD Skorupski is the Director of Professional Programs in our unit, and the course instructor for the Year 1 course taken by Scholars is the coordinator of our Graduate Dietetics Program. PD Linares-Gaffer, co-PD Skorupski, and Instructor Kaydi Williams are all Registered Dietitian Nutritionists holding advanced degrees, making our team particularly well equipped to guide our students through the graduate school process.
Impacts What was accomplished under these goals?
During year one of the NOURISH project, we created program materials including: Program recruitment flyer, application form, applicant selections rubric, applicant interview questions and protocol and participant handbook. We also wrote the syllabus for the required course taken by NOURISH Scholars during year 1, called NSC 395B- Community-Engaged Urban Farming Workshop, a 16 Week, 2 unit class, which was approved by the University of Arizona and added to the permanent course catalog. Objective 1: We successfully recruited and selected five highly qualified MSP Scholars (Cohort 1). Objective 2: We engaged scholars in their community and the food system in the course, NSC 395B. This course was delivered for the first time during fall 2025 at Tucson Village Farm (TVF), a working urban farm and Pima County Cooperative Extension Program serving youth, including 4-H. The objectives for this course are: 1) Demonstrate cultural humility, self-awareness, and an understanding of cultural differences when interacting with community members and classmates. 2) Execute farm-to-table activities, including planting, tending, harvesting, and cooking at a farm. 3) Deliver education sessions and programs to community members at the Tucson Village Farm. 4) Describe how urban farms and community-based programming can be leveraged to support the health and wellness of communities, including patients and clients of healthcare professionals. During this course, NOURISH Scholars spent 3 hours each week directly engaging with community members during youth field trips at TVF. Objective 3: We supported the scholars in meeting academic program requirements. Each week, PD Linares-Gaffer, co-PD Skorupski, and the instructor for NSC 395B, Kaydi Williams, met with Scholars for one hour to discuss course concepts, student reflections on learning, team building, connections between program experiences and their career goals, and their academic performance. Additional coaching and mentoring was provided during these times, and outside during 1:1 meetings. Students also met with their academic advisor to discuss degree progress. Objective 4: We developed scholars' professional and leadership competencies by challenging them with team projects and individual activities. One example was through their SEL, in which Scholars helped plan and facilitate an event called the Kids of Arizona Leadership Experience (KALE), a 1.5 day event focused on teaching youth about nutrition, culinary skills, public speaking, professionalism, and leadership. For this event, Scholars designed and delivered a Smoothie Workshop and lesson, facilitated numerous activities with attendees, and participated in a multi-step evaluation and report of the event. Objective 5: We prepared scholars for graduate and professional school by 1) Having ongoing discussions during our weekly class meetings about Scholars' career goals, and how program activities relate to their professional interests 2) Creating opportunities for Scholars' to work alongside Graduate Dietetics students who are also engaged in experiential learning at the farm, and facilitating mentoring conversations between Scholars and graduate students. We also continuously challenged the NOURISH Scholars to practice soft skills such as public speaking, leading and delegating tasks to teams of interns at the farm, and working on teams to execute assigned projects.
Publications
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