The Food Dignity project included paid internship opportunities for students at Cornell University, Ithaca College, and University of Wyoming to work for mentors either within their institutions or with community-led food justice projects and organizations. Dozens of students participated over the five years, especially under leadership from Feeding Laramie Valley in Laramie, Wyoming, and Cornell Cooperative Extension, Tompkins County, New York.

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We also experimented with ways to include “engaged learning” (also sometimes called “service learning”) about food systems in higher education, with community leaders sharing their expertise community food system and justice work.

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If we could promote only one lesson from that work it would be this: compensation should be provided to community-based teachers and mentors at the same rates as to academic-based teachers and mentors. Any university or college that offers students “community-engaged learning” needs to maintain a core fund to support the community members who are teaching for their institutions.

 

Resources

• Swords, A., Frith, A., & Lapp, J. (2018) Community-Campus Collaborations for Food Justice: Strategy, Successes and Challenges at a Teaching-Focused College. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 8(Supp. 1).

• Porter, C.M. (2018). Fostering formal learning in the Food Dignity project. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 8(Supp. 1).

• Armstrong, J., Dickey, T., Lindemann, J., and Rosario, M. (2015) Engaging Research/Engaging Cornell: Graduate students, public engagement, and the land grant mission of Cornell University. A report, Cornell University.

• Gaechter, L. (2015). Literature review of practices in community-university engaged learning partnerships. A Food Dignity practice brief, University of Wyoming.

• Shapiro, E. & Rhodes, A. (2013). Community-based learning: Valuing grass roots educators. A Food Dignity practice brief, Ithaca College.

• Also within this website: sustainable food system minors, curriculum and course materials, graduate students, & learning guides to Food Dignity products.

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