Non Technical Summary
The 4th Annual 1890s Multi-State Community Nutrition Education Conference will be held virtually on May 15 - 16, 2024. The conference will be presented by seven 1890s Land Grant Universities: Alabama A&M University, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Tennessee State University, Kentucky State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Tuskegee University, with each institution getting an opportunity to host the event annually. This year, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore is the hosting university.The primary conference objective is to build relationships, opportunities, and programs within communities while emphasizing the multi-state effort that involves these universities. Last year, our theme focused on "Putting the Pieces Together To Build Healthy Communities." We aim to bridge the gap between each university and the communities annually by adding a new piece to the puzzle. The conference will address topics such as hearing from educators and the various programs they are implementing in their respective communities, virtual panels, breakout sessions, diversity, equity, inclusion, and more.For the fourth year, we are organizing the Walk Across the 1890s, a 10-week pre-conference event encouraging participants to be more physically active. The participants are encouraged to walk the distance between the seven universities individually or as a team.We also hold a silent auction during the conference. Instead of a registration fee, registrants are asked to donate to the hosting university food pantry, which is the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. We have provided over 20,000 meals in West Tennessee, Alabama, and Arkansas.The purpose of applying for the AFRI Conference Grant is to help the conference grow and reach more educators, health professionals, universities, and communities. The educators have garnered experience in presenting, hosting, and moderating a national conference. Our budget details the expenses associated with hiring an evaluation consultant to assist the 1890s institutions in collecting data on the conference and creating literature on the best methods for promoting equity in collaborative impact and enhancing the skills of the 1890s Community Nutrition Education Workforce. It provides additional information on how speakers, including keynote, cap notes, breakouts, lightning talks, and fitness breaks, will be compensated through stipends. These speakers will be selected from the 1890s Community Nutrition Education Programs represented at the conference, as well as program partners and stakeholders who operate in the communities served by the four programs. In addition, the conference will recognize exceptional team and individual projects, and the stipends for these presentations will also be covered by AFRI Conference grant funds (A1344- Diet, Nutrition, and Prevention of Chronic Disease Program).

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
703	6050	1010	100%

Knowledge Area
703 - Nutrition Education and Behavior;

Subject Of Investigation
6050 - Communities, areas, and regions;

Field Of Science
1010 - Nutrition and metabolism;

Goals / Objectives
There has been a renewed interest in the nation's nineteen 1890 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Land-Grant Universities. A rising national awareness of historic and ongoing systemic racial inequities primarily drives this. Recent reports focus on 1890 HBCUs and the cumulative impact of inequitable and inadequate state match funding for federal dollars on these institutions' infrastructure and reach (Lee & Keys, 2013; National Education Association, 2021). Often lost in this conversation is the inherent strength and capacity of the 1890s Land Grant University System.One shining example of the strength of the 1890s is the community nutrition education programs provided through Cooperative Extension. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funds these nutrition education programs. The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), overseen by USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), provides annual allocations to all nineteen of the 1890s. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) Program, overseen by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, currently provides funding to nine of the nation's 1890s (Sherman, Morris, White, & Austin Cantu, 2021).The 1890s consistently receive smaller allocations from EFNEP and SNAP-Ed than 1862 Land-Grant Universities (Sherman, Morris, White, & Austin Cantu, 2021). One of the many challenges of this inequitable funding level is that the 1890s and 1862 have the exact requirement for caseload numbers, impact data on behavior change, policy, systems, and environmental change projects, despite the varying allocations. Further, the mission of the 1890s was to reach underserved communities and audiences through extension, research, and teaching to improve the lives of all. This mission inherently costs more to provide outreach, programming, and build infrastructure that promotes a healthy lifestyle in low-resourced and chronically underserved communities. One example of this increased cost can be demonstrated in research by Spelman College, an HBCU located in Atlanta, Georgia, seeking to map heat vulnerability in neighborhoods across the city. This research shines a light on the complexity of serving communities that are vulnerable to the effects of global warming and historical racial policies, such as redlining. The cost of utilities and the ability of citizens to safely negotiate walking to a grocery store or exercising in areas with increased amounts of concrete and reduced green spaces in extreme heat (Van Dam & Brink, 2021) are described in this research.Ameliorating the accrued marginalization resulting from such policies is a significant consideration in how the 1890s achieved their land-grant mission of serving vulnerable communities across their states. Even with addressing such inequalities with less available funding, 1890s HBCUs meet and exceed federal community nutrition program reporting expectations through creativity and innovation. One such effective method used by 1890 community nutrition education programs is collective impact through which the programs work together, pooling resources to implement innovative programming and address program administrative needs. Given the additional challenges and costs of using technology to reach historically underserved audiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for such innovation has undoubtedly been exacerbated.Not much is written about the role of the 1890 HBCU Extension community nutrition education programs' collaborations and partnerships in contributing to the education, resources, and equity extension to the communities they serve. One such collaboration with Tennessee State University (TSU), Alabama A&M University (AAMU), the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore (UMES), and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) to address the issue of increasing food accessibility in the communities they serve and the need for continuing professional development for educators by developing the annual 1890s Community Nutrition Education Multi-State Conference.The collaboration to host the 1890s Community Nutrition Education virtual conference by the four institutions over the past two years has worked to establish a benchmark for equity using a collective impact approach. The five founding principles of collective impact were achieved in undertaking the conference (Kania & Kramer, 2011), including a shared agenda, measurement of success already established through funding expectations, mutually reinforcing activities such as the training of educators, collaboration with partners, and building of policy, systems, and environmental change (PSE) into communities to achieve health equity, continuous communication through monthly and weekly meetings and email; and a backbone team made up of professionals from all three programs to coordinate task accomplishment. The equity focus was central to the project; each program committed to overcoming the challenges that all 1890s HBCU Extension community nutrition education programs faced (programming reach, funding issues, redressing the impact of marginalization on resources, and opportunities for health equity and food security).The committee was tasked to plan a virtual conference to bridge these three challenges. By pooling resources, the programs would simultaneously train educators and other conference attendees, who would be seen as field experts, highlight partnerships, collaborate with potential new partners, and extend resources and opportunities into underserved communities.Objectives included:Explore successful models of community engagement in nutrition education initiatives.Discuss culturally appropriate methods for promoting healthy eating behaviors in communities served.Identify and address the unique challenges and opportunities 1890 Land Grant Universities (LGU) faced in promoting nutrition education.Develop strategies for integrating nutrition education into existing 1890s LGU programs and curricula.Showcase innovative research projects and community-based interventions focused on improving health outcomes.Facilitate networking and collaboration among 1890s educators, faculty, staff, and community partners to advance common goals.Develop action plans for implementing effective community-based nutrition education programs at 1890s LGU.

Project Methods
The 4th annual 1890s Multistate Conference project methods include:Planning and DevelopmentA steering committee composed of participating 1890 Land Grant Institutions (Tennessee State University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Alabama A&M University, and theUniversity of Arkansas at Pine Bluff)will guide the conference planning and ensure a multiplicity of perspectives.Nutrition health educators, faculty, staff, students, community members, and other stakeholders have provided information on knowledge gaps and specific interests related to the work of food nutrition, food and nutrition,and healthy eating.Those who are viewed as experts in these areas will be identified as speakers and workshop facilitators.Conference Implementation:The 1890s Multistate Conference will continue to utilize a mixed-methods approach, interactive workshops, networking opportunities, panel discussions, student presentations, keynote speakers, anda silent auction.Culturally relevant initiatives, testimonials,and impact stories from represented 1890s Land Grant Universities will be featured.Pre-conference materials, events, and online resources will be developed to enhance learning, promote the conference, and increase engagement.Data Analysis and InterpretationPost-conference surveys will be conducted to assess changes in attitudes, knowledge, and self-reported interest related to food, nutrition, education, networking, and community engagement.Responses from participants will be collected through the surveys to evaluate the conference's effectiveness.Data/responses will be analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to identify trends and key themes.Post-conference surveysEvaluation:We will track the number of participating 1890 (Land Grant Universities) LGUs, 1862 LGUs, and individuals associated with other organizations.The number of collaborative projects and initiatives launched after the conference will be documented.Media coverage and online engagement metrics will be monitored (https://www.multi-state-conference.com/).Expected Outcomes:Increased knowledge and awareness about food, nutrition, community engagement, healthy eating, resource sharing, stretching resources, and healthy living among LGU faculty, staff, students, and other stakeholders.Enhance the capacity of the 1890s to develop and implement effective and efficient community engagement initiatives in food and nutrition education.Increased knowledge and collaboration sharing in the 1890s.Developing sustainable community engagement programs/curricula promoting healthy eating and living.The 4th Annual 1890s Multistate Conference will serve as another source of information and collaboration. It will highlight the unique aspects and needs of 1890 Land Grant Institutions catering to their respective communities, emphasizing the fostering of knowledge and collaboration among other institutions. The conference will also provide and welcome suggestions for strategies that promote sustainable community and academic engagement.