Reflection on the Groceries to Graduate scholarship program at Missouri Southern State University
In recent years, myriad universities have sought measures to alleviate the burden of nutrition insecurity among undergraduate in order to improve student health and academic success, as the prevalence of nutrition insecurity on college campuses has gained attention from researchers. At Missouri S...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1189 |
| _version_ | 1797679710437638144 |
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| author | Megan Bever Amber Carr Kamryn Colburn Andrea Cullers J. Rutledge |
| author_facet | Megan Bever Amber Carr Kamryn Colburn Andrea Cullers J. Rutledge |
| author_sort | Megan Bever |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
In recent years, myriad universities have sought measures to alleviate the burden of nutrition insecurity among undergraduate in order to improve student health and academic success, as the prevalence of nutrition insecurity on college campuses has gained attention from researchers. At Missouri Southern State University (MSSU), faculty launched the Lion Co-op Center for Nutrition Security (LCCNS) in 2018, which focused on research and included a free food and personal hygiene pantry that all students, staff, and faculty were eligible to use. In 2020, the LCCNS piloted the Groceries to Graduate (G2G) scholarship program, which provides advanced undergraduate students (those who have earned 60+ credit hours) in good standing and with financial need with scholarship tokens that can be used as currency at the Webb City Farmers Market, located three miles north of campus. The objective of this program was to increase low-income undergraduate access to fresh produce and reduce their financial burden of purchasing high quality food, therefore improving academic outcomes. This reflective essay examines the preliminary findings we obtained about the first two years of the scholarship program. It assesses the methods of communicating with students about the scholarship program, token usage, availability of fresh produce, and student academic success. The initial findings suggest that while the model needs improvement, the scholarships are meeting student needs for access to nutritional food. This market-based solution gives students currency (tokens) so that they can buy directly from local merchants, a model that with some revision may provide a workable model for small universities to address nutritional insecurity among students.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:18:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-abcd2b20bc244416b1b89b908c713aed |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2152-0801 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:18:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
| spelling | doaj.art-abcd2b20bc244416b1b89b908c713aed2023-09-20T19:07:01ZengLyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food SystemsJournal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development2152-08012023-09-0112410.5304/jafscd.2023.124.016Reflection on the Groceries to Graduate scholarship program at Missouri Southern State UniversityMegan Bever0Amber Carr1Kamryn Colburn2Andrea Cullers3J. Rutledge4Missouri Southern State UniversityMissouri Southern State UniversityMissouri Southern State UniversityMissouri Southern State UniversityMissouri Southern State University In recent years, myriad universities have sought measures to alleviate the burden of nutrition insecurity among undergraduate in order to improve student health and academic success, as the prevalence of nutrition insecurity on college campuses has gained attention from researchers. At Missouri Southern State University (MSSU), faculty launched the Lion Co-op Center for Nutrition Security (LCCNS) in 2018, which focused on research and included a free food and personal hygiene pantry that all students, staff, and faculty were eligible to use. In 2020, the LCCNS piloted the Groceries to Graduate (G2G) scholarship program, which provides advanced undergraduate students (those who have earned 60+ credit hours) in good standing and with financial need with scholarship tokens that can be used as currency at the Webb City Farmers Market, located three miles north of campus. The objective of this program was to increase low-income undergraduate access to fresh produce and reduce their financial burden of purchasing high quality food, therefore improving academic outcomes. This reflective essay examines the preliminary findings we obtained about the first two years of the scholarship program. It assesses the methods of communicating with students about the scholarship program, token usage, availability of fresh produce, and student academic success. The initial findings suggest that while the model needs improvement, the scholarships are meeting student needs for access to nutritional food. This market-based solution gives students currency (tokens) so that they can buy directly from local merchants, a model that with some revision may provide a workable model for small universities to address nutritional insecurity among students. http://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1189GroceriesGraduation RatesScholarshipTokenFarmers MarketNutrition Security |
| spellingShingle | Megan Bever Amber Carr Kamryn Colburn Andrea Cullers J. Rutledge Reflection on the Groceries to Graduate scholarship program at Missouri Southern State University Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development Groceries Graduation Rates Scholarship Token Farmers Market Nutrition Security |
| title | Reflection on the Groceries to Graduate scholarship program at Missouri Southern State University |
| title_full | Reflection on the Groceries to Graduate scholarship program at Missouri Southern State University |
| title_fullStr | Reflection on the Groceries to Graduate scholarship program at Missouri Southern State University |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reflection on the Groceries to Graduate scholarship program at Missouri Southern State University |
| title_short | Reflection on the Groceries to Graduate scholarship program at Missouri Southern State University |
| title_sort | reflection on the groceries to graduate scholarship program at missouri southern state university |
| topic | Groceries Graduation Rates Scholarship Token Farmers Market Nutrition Security |
| url | http://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1189 |
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