Our Research

HCC Service Based Learning Group

This semester, we accepted the opportunity to participate in the Service Based Learning program, to address the issue of Food Insecurity in our community. This process required a minimum of 15 hours of service/volunteer time, weekly reflections and a final evaluation, which has left a lasting impact on us all.

To complete the assignment, we’ve conducted the following research and interviews:

Our Research

Our in class assignments included several articles written on the topics of food insecurity and hunger in America, plus how it relates to Child Development, Women’s Health, Mental Health and Students & their ability to study, along with Compromising & Coping Strategies. Each assignment was followed by a reflection of the issue.

Food Insecurity

“Food insecurity has been described as the condition of not having regular access to enough nutritious food for a healthy life.”

– John Cook, Ph.D. & Karen Jeng, AB

According to Feeding America, a US Based Non-Profit leading the nation’s food banks in the fight against hunger, “Food insecurity touches every county of every state in the nation.”

Affects of FI in our community

Food Insecurity and poor nutrition have a lasting affect on our community and economy. Many of our neighbors are finding themselves having to choose between paying for housing, medications and other necessities, or buying food. Often times the affordable food selections made are less nutritious, resulting in higher risks of physical, mental and psychological illnesses; making local food banks and pantries a valuable asset to the community.

Interview w/ Brian Greene

Brian Greene is the CEO and president of the Houston Food Bank. He allowed us to interview him and look around the facility. Greene majored in economics and started his work with food banks while attending the University of Tennessee. Green has worked in the field for almost 14 years now, starting in Tennessee, moving on to Louisiana and finally here in Houston, TX. In April 2019, Greene received the John van Hengel Fellowship Award at Feeding America’s 2019 Hunger’s Hope Awards ceremony. The award recognizes an executive member of a food bank, on his/or her excellence in leadership, local impact and national influence. With lots of awards, Greene continues his efforts to build the Houston Food Bank and serve the community we love.

Houston Food Banks Efforts

The Houston Food Bank describes itself as “the solution to both hunger and food waste.”

They are the largest food bank nationally and have a mission to fight hunger. At the Houston Food Bank, there is always a way to give, which could range from donating food, to donating money or by cooperating as a volunteer and offering your time. They have many volunteering opportunities and their site can accommodate up to 1000 volunteers per day.

The Houston Food Bank also offers an onsite pantry for working residents that do not have access to their neighborhood pantry.

For more information, visit: HoustonFoodBank.org

JOIN THE CAUSE

Suggested Readings

The following articles were used as the basis of research for major assignments, throughout our semester:

“A Plan of Action to End Hunger in America”. FRAC, Food Research and Action Center, 2015, http://frac.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/plan-to-end-hunger-in-america.pdf.

Black, Maureen. “Household food insecurities: Threats to children’s well-being.” American Psychological Association, The SES Indicator, Jun. 2012, https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/indicator/2012/06/household-food-insecurities.aspx.

Cook, John, and Karen Jeng. “Child Food Insecurity: The Economic Impact on our Nation”. Feeding America, 2009, https://www.nokidhungry.org/sites/default/files/child-economy-study.pdf.

Feely, Maris. “Ending Hunger is a Gender Equity Issue”. FRAC, Food Research and Action Center, 2019, http://frac.org/blog/ending-hunger-gender-equity-issue.

Goldrick-Rab, Sara. “It’s Hard to Study if You’re Hungry”. New York Times, 14 Jan. 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/14/opinion/hunger-college-food-insecurity.html.

Hartling-Grafton, Heather. “The Impact of Food Insecurity on Women’s Health”. FRAC, Food Research and Action Center, 2019, www.frac.org/blog/impact-food-insecurity-womens-health.

Picchi, Aimee. “Where Americans are going hunger”. CBS News, Money Watch, 22 May 2018, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/where-americans-are-going-hungry/.

“Understand Food Insecurity”. Feeding America, Hunger + Health Blog, 2019, https://hungerandhealth.feedingamerica.org/understand-food-insecurity/hunger-health-101/.