New Article: Chris Bacon
Chris Bacon published an open access peer-reviewed article about developing a food justice approach in food pantries in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. Bacon and co-authors Ava Gleicher '22 (Environmental Studies, Political Science), Emma McCurry '21 (Bioengineering), and Topher McNeil (postdoc) explored how food pantries and urban gardens could partner to advance food justice through education and onsite composting. The team partnered with Sacred Heart Community Services food pantry and La Mesa Verde Urban Gardeners program. Drawing on interviews, workshops, and participant observations, the researchers found that while pantry volunteers and gardeners both expressed concern about food access and food waste, pantry volunteers were often unfamiliar with food justice and uncomfortable talking about race and culture. Urban gardeners, in contrast, emphasized food justice as a right to nutritious, organic, culturally relevant foods, and a strategy for building community, solidarity, and autonomy. These findings are relevant for the 60,000 food pantries in the U.S. In addition, student researchers Isabelle Solorzano '24 (Environmental Science), Mary Xiang '25 (Public Health Science), and Paulina Ursua Garcia '24 (Environmental Studies, Ethnic Studies) co-produced a volunteer training program and food justice signage for the pantry, based on surveys and interviews that identified key themes for education materials and campaigns for pantry volunteers and clients. The SCU team gathered feedback on these materials at a workshop with Sacred Heart, which they will use to finalize a food justice curriculum and replicable resource guide that other pantries and service organizations can use to establish a food justice approach to food waste reduction.