Source: KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
USING ORGANIC AND URBAN AGRICULTURE TO ADDRESS ISSUES OF FOOD JUSTICE THROUGH STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1021798
Grant No.
2020-38821-31094
Cumulative Award Amt.
$570,886.00
Proposal No.
2019-03220
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jun 1, 2020
Project End Date
May 31, 2025
Grant Year
2020
Program Code
[EP]- Teaching Project
Recipient Organization
KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
FRANKFORT,KY 40601
Performing Department
CACA
Non Technical Summary
The proposed project will increase Kentucky State University's (KSU's) capacity to offer experiential learning with a focus on improving agricultural literacy, increasing access to fresh produce, and improving dietary habits. This will be accomplished through six objectives. A student-run farm will be established to supply produce to KSU Dining Services, including a student-run café. Farm operations will be guided by an advisory committee and production will take place year-round in accordance with the National Organic Program. Demonstration and teaching gardens will be established to showcase organic vegetable production in urban agriculture settings, such as backyards and school gardens. These gardens will be the cornerstone of urban agriculture Extension programming with content about growing vegetables, nutrition, food safety, and food preparation and preservation. The farm and gardens will be integrated into existing course work and programming to facilitate experiential learning. This will include courses in agriculture, food safety, nutrition, marketing and entrepreneurship, and Extension programs in 4-H and Youth Development. A database of local producers will be created and relationships between producers and KSU Dining Services will be fostered to promote local foods on campus. The effects of participating in student-run agricultural endeavors on fostering beneficial changes in student dietary choices and metabolic health will be examined. Students dietary attitudes and behaviors will be assessed through a survey and student metabolic health will be monitored through SHAPE-UP KSU, an existing program. A survey will also be conducted to investigate community interest in urban agriculture in low-income neighborhoods in food deserts in Frankfort, KY.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2051499106054%
6046230301010%
7036010101016%
7046099308010%
2056030302010%
Knowledge Area
703 - Nutrition Education and Behavior; 205 - Plant Management Systems; 604 - Marketing and Distribution Practices; 704 - Nutrition and Hunger in the Population;

Subject Of Investigation
1499 - Vegetables, general/other; 6230 - Marketing systems and sectors thereof; 6010 - Individuals; 6099 - People and communities, general/other; 6030 - The farm as an enterprise;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems); 3020 - Education; 1010 - Nutrition and metabolism; 3010 - Economics; 3080 - Sociology;
Goals / Objectives
Objectivesfor the proposed project are: 1) establish a student-run farm to supply produce to KSU Dining Services, including a student-run cafe; 2) establish demonstration and teaching gardens showcasing organic vegetable production in urban agriculture settings, such as backyards and school gardens; 3) integrate the student-run farm and demonstration gardens into existing course work and programming to facilitate experiential learning; 4) develop relationships between producers and KSU Dining Services to promote local foods on campus; 5) examine whether participating in student-run agricultural endeavors fosters beneficial changes in student dietary choices and metabolic health; and 6) investigate community interest in urban agriculture in low-income neighborhoods in food deserts in Frankfort, KY.
Project Methods
Objective 1: Establish a student-run farm to supply produce to KSU Dining Services, including a student-run café. A student-run farm will be established at the KSU High Tunnel Center (KSU-HTC) and provide food to KSU Dining Services. We will form an advisory committee to determine farm management practices and evaluate the farm's productivity and success. KSU faculty and staff will oversee day-to-day activities of the farm and train student workers. Experienced students will become farm managers and help train new students, initiate peer-to-peer learning, and maintain continuity in farming activities and planning. The use of high tunnels will enable year-round production. Crops selection will be determined in conjunction with Dining Services to meet their needs. Since the KSU-HTC is certified organic, the farm will be managed in accordance with the National Organic Program. Student farmers will also be compliant with Good Agriculture Practices to ensure the health and safety of consumers. Dining Services will highlight the produce though advertisements and educational materials about how and where it was grown. We will also work with Dining Services to expand dining options for students and KSU community members to include a grab-and-go café to provide an additional opportunity to get fresh food on campus. As the student-run farm becomes more productive, additional outlets for produce will be sought.Objective 2: Establish demonstration and teaching gardens showcasing organic vegetable production in urban agriculture settings, such as backyards and school gardens. Demonstration and teaching gardens will consist of raised beds planted with a variety of vegetables. The demonstration garden will be constructed adjacent to the KSU-HTC to show how a family can grow food in their backyard using organic practices. Extension programming at this garden will include nutrition, food safety, and food preparation and preservation. Teaching gardens will be constructed at the Rosenwald Center for 4-H and Youth Development (RC4HYD), used in a variety of youth programs, and will display both familiar and unfamiliar crops. A second set of raised beds will be used to help train teachers and Extension agents in gardening, creating and running school gardens, and using 4-H gardening curricula. These training programs will be piloted and evaluated before expansion to additional groups.Objective 3: Integrate the student-run farm and demonstration gardens into existing course work and programming to facilitate experiential learning. A number of existing academic, student life, and KSU Extension programs will benefit from the farm and gardens. The project will offer additional experiential learning opportunities to students taking courses in agriculture, including placements for those taking AFE 311 Practicum I (an independent work-based experiential project), AFE 411 Practicum II (independent undergraduate research), and ENV 503 Student Team Project (graduate team research project). Several courses taught by the College of Business and Computational Science (CBCS) will also benefit from the additional resources of the farm and gardens. This project could be linked with other university project-based courses on the topics of food security, food deserts, social acceptance of sustainable practices (such as organic farming), and the effectiveness of marketing healthy food options. The farm and gardens will also integrate with a number of existing Extension programs at KSU, such as the organic agriculture and urban agriculture Extension programming. The teaching gardens at the RC4HYD will be a major asset to 4-H and youth programming and will incorporate hands-on agricultural activities in after-school and summer programming.Objective 4: Develop relationships between producers and KSU Dining Services to promote local foods on campus. New and existing relationships between KSU and regional farmers will be built or strengthened for procurement of agricultural products. A database of producers will be developed and maintained to facilitate continued communication and planning. The collection of data will begin with producers known by KSU researchers; these individuals will be asked to identify other producers. Farmers markets and other agriculture organizations will also be asked to identify regional producers. Within the first year, all current regional producers will be identified and those interested in working with KSU Dining Services and other markets will develop agreements. The number of regional producers listed in this database will be expanded in years 2 and 3.Objective 5: Examine whether participating in student-run agricultural endeavors fosters beneficial changes in student dietary choices and metabolic health. Student dietary attitudes and behaviors will be assessed through a survey. The metabolic health of students will be monitored through SHAPE-UP KSU, an existing program on metabolic syndrome (MetS) in KSU students that includes anthropometric measurements (weight, height, body mass index [BMI], and waist circumference) and biochemical and clinical assessments (5-min resting phase, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and blood samples analyzed for fasting glucose, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides). Students are recruited to SHAPE-UP KSU at the start of their freshmen term and monitored over the course of their enrollment. Student farm workers will be asked to volunteer to participate in SHAPE-UP KSU following the inclusion criteria. The participating student population will be grouped into cohorts based on the semester they join to control for differences in farming activities and the crops grown. All statistical analyses will be performed using SPSS (SPSS, Chicago, IL). Significant differences in dietary attitudes and behaviors among student groups (non-participants, SHAPE-UP KSU, and student-run farm) and cohorts will be based on chi-square values determined by the crosstab procedure. Demographics will be calculated using means and frequencies. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) scores on the means procedure will be used to examine differences among student groups and cohorts for all parameters. The crosstab procedure, Pearson's chi-square tests, and non-parametric independent t-tests will be used to analyze the prevalence of MetS criteria by student group, BMI, and BMI category. Significance will be set at p ≤ 0.05.Objective 6: Investigate community interest in urban agriculture in low income neighborhoods in food deserts in Frankfort, KY. A number of neighborhoods around KSU are low income and considered food deserts. Individuals living in these area would benefit from greater access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The project directors will make contact with these communities through neighborhood associations, community programs, and KSU employees with ties to these communities. These neighborhoods will be canvased with a survey to determine residents' interest in growing their own food in a community garden or participating in community supported agriculture (CSA) programs. Survey questions may include level of experience with and interest in growing food or CSAs, familiarity with KSU Extension, and appropriate plot fees or share prices. The survey will be repeated in other neighborhoods with different socio-economic compositions and at different distances from KSU; results will be analyzed for differences between neighborhoods. The results of the survey will be used to increase engagement with these communities and promote attendance at Extension events. Depending on neighborhood interest, the creation of community gardens in these communities and a CSA program from the student-run farm will be explored.

Progress 06/01/22 to 05/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Students at KSU and stakeholders in the greater Frankfort area. Low income communities in Kentucky. Extension agents in Kentucky. Changes/Problems:Major problems have been the COVID pandemic, increased prices on materials due to supply chain shortages (related to the pandemic), the administrative and dining services changes at the university, and the departure of PI Whittinghill. In 2023 we also saw unexpected damage to high tunnels, unfortunately undoing some of the repairs we had completed. PI Lucas is assuming the PD role and intends to engage the new Urban Agriculture specialist at KSU and salvage the project, despite these challenges. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?FourUndergraduates were trained in high tunnel maintenance and production practices. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The delays caused by the COVID pandemic and the departure of PI Whittinghill have limited what can be disseminated. We anticipate (and have discussed) workshops in collaboration with Commonwealth Gardens and through other KSU extension channels in 2023 -2024 if the project can be extended. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?CO-PI Lucas will assume the PD role on the project. High tunnel repairs will be complete by summer 2023 (They were nearly complete in spring 2023 but the extreme wind events mentioned above caused extensive damage on one tunnel and damage on two other units). We will work with the KSU dining services vendor and Green Society to see if we can get student grown food into the dining hall. We will build the relationship with Commonwealth Gardens, who already has established some local community gardens, and by also engaging the new Urban Agriculture specialist on the project we intend to achieve the outreach and community garden related goals of the project.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Establish a student-run farm to supply produce to KSU Dining Services, including a student-run café. Some vegetable production took place during the 2021 and 2022 growing seasons. We removed old high tunnel plastic in 2020 however the removal of the plastic indicated that more extensive renovations were needed than originally anticipated. We rebuilt and replaced end-walls on the four high tunnels that were to be used as part of this project. Hip rails were also replaced on all tunnels. New plastic was purchased and replacement of plastic started in fall 2021 and into summer 2022. As of Fall 2022 the majority of repairs had been completed, however several wind events in Kentucky in February and March 2023 damaged end walls on 2 tunnels and completely removed the plastic cover on a third. We are now conducting repairs.We have also installed the Agricultural Water Meter. Quotes for expanding the fence line to increase growing area have been obtained but due to significant price increases over the quotes we received before project initiation we were not able to feasibly expand the complex. As of Jan 2023, KSU has also hired a new Assistant Professor of Urban Agriculture (to replace PD Whittinghill).Co-PI Lucas will take over as PD on this project and will engage the new Urban Agriculture specialist on this project in the case that it is extended. 2) Establish demonstration and teaching gardens showcasing organic vegetable production in urban agriculture settings, such as backyards and school gardens. The COVID pandemic followed by the departure of the former PD (Whittinghill) to a new position no longer affiliated with KSU, has made this portion of the project less feasible. We have moved towards a collaboration with Commonwealth Gardens in Frankfort whose mission overlaps with the goals of this project. CO-PI Lucas has been coordinating with this group and CO-PI Lucas intends to become project director on this project. As of Jan 2023, KSU has also hired a new Assistant Professor of Urban Agriculture (to replace PD Whittinghill). Co-PI Lucas will take over as PD on this project and will engage the new Urban Agriculture specialist on this project in the case that it is extended. 3) Integrate the student-run farm and demonstration gardens into existing course work and programming to facilitate experiential learning. Nothing to report. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and suspension of in person classes in 2020 and 2021 many hands-on class activities were not able to be implemented. The departure of PI Whittinghill as well as the extensive repairs needed to the high tunnels where this work would take place have caused delays in implementing this portion of the project. Now that most repairs have taken place (although extreme wind events in early 2023 have caused extensive damage that we are currently repairing), 4 undergraduate students have been participating in various aspects of production and work. An environmental student group at KSU, The Green Society, under advisement of CO-PI Lucas,has formed and is interested in taking on aspects of this project goal in the case that the project can be extended. The new Urban Agriculture specialist at KSU may also be able to contribute to this goal. 4) Develop relationships between producers and KSU Dining Services to promote local foods on campus. Some ground work toward completion of this goal had been done. However incorporation of any campus grown food into campus dining facilities needs to be routed through the campus vending services. KSU has undergone significant administrative changes over the last 2 years including the departure of the university President, the departure of his successor (an acting president, and the departure of two individuals who served as VPs of Finance. As part of these changes dining services vendors also changed. As previously mentioned, the lead PI on this project has also departed and taken a position outside of KSU. All of these changes have delayed implementation of this aspect of the project. In the case that the project can be extended, we intend to connect with the current vendor if they remain on-board in the coming year. 5) Examine whether participating in student-run agricultural endeavors fosters beneficial changes in student dietary choices and metabolic health. Nothing to report. Work on this goal was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the departure of PI Whittinghill. 6) Investigate community interest in urban agriculture in low-income neighborhoods in food deserts in Frankfort, KY. Earlier work on this goal was suspended with the departure of PI Whittinghill. We anticipate that we could make headway on this goal through the collaboration with Commonwealth Gardens mentioned above.

Publications


    Progress 06/01/21 to 05/31/22

    Outputs
    Target Audience:Students at KSU and stakeholders in the greater Frankfort area. Low income communities in Kentucky. Extension agents in Kentucky. Changes/Problems:Major problems have been the COVID pandemic, increased prices on materials due to supply chain shortages (related to the pandemic), the administrative and dining services changes at the university, and the departure of PI Whittinghill.CO-PI Lucas is assuming the PI role and intends to salvage the project, despite these challenges. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Four Undergraduates were trained in high tunnel maintenance and production practices. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The delays caused by the COVID pandemic and the departure of PI Whittinghill have limited what can be disseminated. We anticipate (and have discussed) workshops in collaboration with Commonwealth Gardens and through other KSU extension channels in 2023 -2024 of the project can be extended. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?CO-PI Lucas will assume the PI role on the project. High tunnel repairs will be complete by summer 2022. ? We will build the relationship with Commonwealth Gardens, who already has established some local community gardens, and achive the outreach and community garden related goals of the project.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Establish a student-run farm to supply produce to KSU Dining Services, including a student-run café. Some vegetable production took place during the 2021 and 2022 growing seasons. We removed old high tunnel plastic in 2020 however the removal of the plastic indicated that more extensive renovations were needed than originally anticipated. We rebuilt and replaced end-walls on the four high tunnels that were to be used as part of this project. Hip rails were also replaced on all tunnels. New plastic was purchased and replacement of plastic started in fall 2021 and into summer 2022. We have also installed the Agricultural Water Meter. Some quotes for expanding the fence line to increase growing area have been obtained but due to significant price increases over the quotes we received before project initiation we were not able to feasibly expand the complex. 2) Establish demonstration and teaching gardens showcasing organic vegetable production in urban agriculture settings, such as backyards and school gardens. The COVID pandemic followed by the departure of the former PI (Whittinghill) to a new position no longer affiliated with KSU, has made this portion of the project less feasible. We have moved towards a collaboration with Commonwealth Gardens in Frankfort whose mission overlaps with the goals of this project. CO-PI Lucas has been coordinating with this group and CO-PI Lucas intends to become project director on this project. 3) Integrate the student-run farm and demonstration gardens into existing course work and programming to facilitate experiential learning. Nothing to report. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and suspension of in person classes in 2020 and 2021 many hands-on class activities were not able to be implemented. The departure of PI Whittinghill as well as the extensive repairs needed to the high tunnels where this work would take place have caused delays in implementing this portion of the project. Now that most repairs have taken place, 4 undergraduate students have been participating in various aspects of production and work. An environmental student group at KSU, The Green Society, under advisement of CO-PI Lucas has formed and is interested in taking on aspects of this project goal in the case that the project can be extended. 4) Develop relationships between producers and KSU Dining Services to promote local foods on campus. Some ground work toward completion of this goal had been done. However incorporation of any campus grown food into campus dining facilities needs to be routed through the campus vending services. KSU has undergone significant administrative changes over the last 2 years including the departure of the university President, the departure of his successor (an acting president, and the departure of two individuals who served as VPs of Finance. As part of these changes dining services vendors also changed. As previously mentioned, the lead PI on this project has also departed and taken a position outside of KSU. All of these changes have delayed implementation of this aspect of the project. In the case that the project can be extended, we intend to connect with the current vendor if they remain on-board in the coming year. 5) Examine whether participating in student-run agricultural endeavors fosters beneficial changes in student dietary choices and metabolic health. Nothing to report. Work on this goal was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the departure of PI Whittinghill. 6) Investigate community interest in urban agriculture in low-income neighborhoods in food deserts in Frankfort, KY. Earlier work on this goal was suspended with the departure of PI Whittinghill. We anticipate that we could make headway on this goal through the collaboration with Commonwealth Gardens mentioned above.

    Publications


      Progress 06/01/20 to 05/31/21

      Outputs
      Target Audience:Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many aspects of this project had to be put on hold. We were able to produce some vegetables in the student farm space. Two Kentucky State University graduate students were able to participate in vegetable production and management activities in the student farm space to help grow vegetables including tomatoes, cucumbers, acorn squash, onions, radishes, and green beans. These vegetables along with produce from other Kentucky State University Health Food Initiative produce were donated to food pantries, shelters, and soup kitchens in Franklin and surrounding counties to help offset the increase in food insecurity due to the pandemic. Changes/Problems:With the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the resulting safety protocols, much of our in-person work was suspended. We were able to somewhat take advantage of the time to get foundational work done on some of the objectives (See Accomplishments). With a return to in-person and hands-on activities, we hope that progress on all objectives will ramp up this summer and fall. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1) Establish a student-run farm to supply produce to KSU Dining Services, including a student-run cafe;- Hold a meeting of the advisory council. Select and begin work with the first cohort of student workers. Complete the addition of the fence line and installation of the additional high tunnel. Finish replacing the plastic on the existing high tunnels. 2) Establish demonstration and teaching gardens showcasing organic vegetable production in urban agriculture settings, such as backyards and school gardens- Install the raised beds and construct a calendar of extension events for the space. Begin holding events in the space. 3) Integrate the student-run farm and demonstration gardens into existing course work and programming to facilitate experiential learning- Reach out to interested faculty again to start to get them involved in the project and provide experience learning opportunities for their courses. 4) Develop relationships between producers and KSU Dining Services to promote local foods on campus- Continue to build the database of local producers with student involvement moving forward. Continue to work toward getting more local food use by KSU Dining Services. A meeting with the new head of Dining Services will need to be held to restart the conversation. 5) Examine whether participating in student-run agricultural endeavors fosters beneficial changes in student dietary choices and metabolic health- With a return to in-person campus activities we hope to have the first cohort of student participants start this coming fall. 6) Investigate community interest in urban agriculture in low-income neighborhoods in food deserts in Frankfort, KY- Complete survey construction, obtain IRB approval, begin survey data collection.

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Establish a student-run farm to supply produce to KSU Dining Services, including a student-run café- Some vegetable production took place during the 2020 growing season. We were also able to remove the old high tunnel plastic to enable built up salts in the soil to be flushed out. New plastic has been purchased and will be installed when weather conditions are right. We have also installed the Agricultural Water Meter. Some quotes for expanding the fence line to increase growing area have been obtained. 2) Establish demonstration and teaching gardens showcasing organic vegetable production in urban agriculture settings, such as backyards and school gardens- Wood has been purchased to construct the raised beds. A meeting will be held shortly to decide on the final layout. Once this has taken place, installation will begin. 3) Integrate the student-run farm and demonstration gardens into existing course work and programming to facilitate experiential learning- Nothing to report. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and suspension of in person classes and many hands on class activities we have not been able to implement this goal yet. 4) Develop relationships between producers and KSU Dining Services to promote local foods on campus- Some ground work toward completion of this goal has been done. More work toward creating the database of local producers has been completed this spring.Although some meetings had been held with the head of KSU Dining Services, they have since left the position. We will have to start building a relationship with their replacement. 5) Examine whether participating in student-run agricultural endeavors fosters beneficial changes in student dietary choices and metabolic health- Nothing to report. Work on this goal has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 6) Investigate community interest in urban agriculture in low-income neighborhoods in food deserts in Frankfort, KY- Some preliminary work on creating survey questions has begin. Some new avenues for survey data collection have been explored with community partners.

      Publications