Search

Food insecurity is defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as having a limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods. Food deserts are large geographic areas with no, or distant, grocery stores. Food insecurity often exists in food deserts. The current study was undertaken by Edward Waters College (EWC) STEM learning community to examine the relationship between food deserts and food insecurity in one urban neighborhood in Jacksonville, Florida. The learning community included the departments of Biology, Mathematics, and Psychology, and the study was undertaken by three professors and approximately 16 students over three academic semesters. The purpose of this learning community was to promote collaborations between departments using a global curriculum issue, i.e., food insecurity and food deserts. The objectives of this study were to identify and describe the relationship between food insecurity and food deserts, describe the food landscape of retailers in the area, and examine the attitudes and perceptions of residents about the state of food insecurity in their community. The survey results indicated that there was no relationship between food insecurity and food deserts in the urban neighborhood studied. We found little or no relationship between residents' attitudes about food deserts, food security, spending habits, and food preferences. The STEM learning community used the results from this research study to create a partnership with the residents of New Town Success Zone to develop an urban garden and a greenhouse learning laboratory to redress food insecurity and food deserts in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]