EDAC 634 Assignment 6 – Transformational Learning
Jeff Kushel
Project Name: Food Deserts: What they are and how to eliminate them.
Goal: Students will learn about food deserts, what causes them, and how they affect the communities that reside in them. They will learn about strategies to eliminate food deserts in urban and rural communities.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn the definition of food desert and the issues that cause them to exist.
- Learn about problems that communities have getting fresh produce in marketplaces and the effect this has on short-term and long-term health.
- Learn various strategies and ideas for eliminating food deserts in inner-city communities.
- Learn various strategies and ideas for eliminating food deserts in rural areas and why those solutions may be vastly different.
Rationales: For this program, I will be utilizing the planetary view of transformation learning. This view “recognizes the interconnectedness between the universe, planet, natural environment, human community, and the personal world” (Merriam & Baumgartner, 2020). We will seek to recognize, in this class, the connection between the natural environment and the human community by looking at two possible ways to transform "food deserts” into places that provides sustainable access to fresh produce. The class will also learn and discuss new ways to introduce food to communities that desperately need it. There are four phases of transformational learning which are integrated into the design of the program.
Design: There are 3 modules for this program which identify the current issues with lack of fresh food in urban and rural communities and the effect this has on those communities. Students will reflect on those issues, and then introduce some possibilities to correct them.
Module 1 |
Define and discuss food deserts and their impact on people living in those communities. Food desert is defined as “an impoverished area where residents lack access to healthy foods. Food deserts may exist in rural or urban areas and are associated with complex geographic and socioeconomic factors, as well as with poor diet and health disorders such as obesity” (Rogers, 2012). |
The food deserts of Memphis: inside America's hunger capital | Divided Cities - YouTube
Experience: Members of the class will discuss whether they live in a food desert or if they know someone who does. Members who have lived in a food desert will discuss how they got nutritious food, or if they were able to. Critical Reflection: Students will self-examine their expectations of where a food desert can occur and whether food deserts affect only inner-city communities, or whether they are a problem for many types of areas. Afterwards they will discuss whether food deserts are sociocultural, or if there are other issues which may cause their creation. Reflective Discourse: Students will discuss how differing viewpoints offered by other classmates have affected their idea of what a food desert is, and how it affects many communities in different ways. |
Module 2 |
Learn and discuss new innovations, ideas, and technologies that are removing food deserts from urban and inner-city communities. This includes learning about government policies which need to change, the creation of urban farms and gardens, and other unique ideas. “Simply increasing access to cheap food doesn’t lead to equitable access to affordable and healthy foods” (Rdn, 2021) |
Grocery store on wheels helps those living in urban 'food deserts' - YouTube
How Urban Farms Are Changing the Landscape of Food Deserts - YouTube
Action: Students will be placed into groups where they must come up with unique ideas that could help eliminate food deserts in urban environments. They should come up with a comprehensive plan to put their idea into action. |
Module 3 |
Learn and discuss new innovations, ideas, and technologies that are removing food deserts from rural communities. “…small town food stores, with limited floor space, economies of scale, and distance from distribution centers, continue to provide limited food selection at higher prices and face the persistent challenge to remain profitable… As a result, rural families with only convenience or small stores from which to choose experience higher prices and lower selection and quality of foods than those shopping in larger supermarkets” (Sharkey, 2009). Whereas urban food deserts may be the results of sociocultural bias, rural food markets may be the result of a lack of a large enough population to sustain a supermarket. |
Increasing rural food access, recovering Maryland's oysters and more | Eye on America - YouTube |
Rural Hunger and Access to Healthy Food Overview - Rural Health Information Hub
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69oyPdr210A
Action: Students will be placed into groups where they must come up with unique ideas that could help eliminate food deserts in rural environments. This may prove more difficult as rural food deserts could simply be a result of low populations areas. |
EDAC 634 Week 6 Powerpoint Presentation
References
Merriam, S. B., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2020). Learning in adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide. John Wiley & Sons.
Rogers, K. (2012, January 19). Food desert | Causes, Effects & Solutions. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/food-desert
Rdn, A. C. a. M. (2021, June 14). What are food deserts? All you need to know. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/food-deserts#solutions
Sharkey, J. R. (2009). Measuring potential access to food stores and Food-Service places in rural areas in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 36(4), S151–S155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2009.01.004
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