Team: Nicole Hellthaler (Trumbull, Conn.), Joshua DeBruyn (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Amy Stewart (Lancaster, Pa.), Alex Stradal (St. Louis, Mo.)
Supervisors: Emily English and Jenna Rhodes
The team will map existing assets that could potentially support farm-to-institution programs across Arkansas. Students will research and review other local food system statewide asset maps from across the nation, aggregate existing databases of assets from various organizations and agencies, and create new databases for currently missing information, all of which will inform the development of a searchable map to be housed online. As part of the process, students will develop a dissemination plan based on key informant interviews conducted with representatives of major stakeholders within the farm-to-institution community, such as the Cooperative Extension Service, Arkansas Agriculture Department, schools, and hospitals.
Mission Statement: To address the multi-faceted problem of childhood obesity through a coordinated, community-based approach targeting modifiable individual risk behaviors, environmental risk behaviors, and state and national risk reduction policies. The program’s approach is focused on food systems and sustainable agriculture strategies with the specific aim of reducing the number of obese children in the state through research, education and prevention.
“The Childhood Obesity Prevention Research Program at Arkansas Children’s Research Institute is thrilled to collaborate with another Clinton School Practicum team on mapping existing farm to institution assets across the state of Arkansas. This project will enable us and our partners to build on and enhance assets, address infrastructure gaps, and inform programming needs and future research questions.” – Dr. Judith Weber, Director, Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention; and Principle Investigator, Childhood Obesity Prevention Research Program