Assessing the effectiveness of a community food security project for curriculum development

ABSTRACT

Many counties of Western North Carolina have high levels of food insecurity that may be addressed by training communities to grow, prepare, and preserve their own food. A curriculum was developed and tested in 2016 at a Section 8 housing development in Polk County, NC. Research investigated successful community agriculture projects and assessed participant learning. Weekly class evaluations were conducted, as well as pre- and post-surveys. Challenges included frustration over constraints enforced by the housing rules, poor soil, and unbearable Polk County heat. The final curriculum product can be applied to any community struggling with food security and community resiliency.

Acknowledgments

This project would not have been possible without funding and support provided by the McCullough Institute at UNC Asheville, Christopher Sacco and Sydney Klein at Groundswell International, and Sonia Marcus with UNC Asheville's Sustainability Department. We also thank the program participants at Ashley Meadows, and the help of Grace Lewis and Saige Hopkins with curriculum design and layout.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the McCullough Fellowship Program.