Community-Campus Collaborations for Food Justice: Strategy, Successes and Challenges at a Teaching-Focused College

Abstract

Community-campus engagement in higher education provides educational experiences for students to grapple with complex, real-world problems, including the lack of equitable access to healthy food for all. In this reflective essay, three faculty members of a teaching focused college report and reflect on the benefits and challenges of community-campus engagement through a food justice education action research project called Food Dignity, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Achievements included developing a curricular approach, preparing students for community partnerships and community-based research, strengthening institutional commitment to community-campus engagement, and establishing community and institutional networks. Outcomes include that student participants revised their values and attitudes about the food system and their ability to change it. We discuss challenges, including academic supremacy and unequal power relations, and offer recommendations for future community-campus food justice initiatives.