Youth Action: Tackling Food Insecurity Together

7th Grade: Mathematics, Social Studies and Science Scaffolding…


Math: Statistics on Food Insecurity

The seventh grade students utilized intentional literacy supports and scaffolding methods to analyze data collected on the issue of food insecurity. 🥗

42.9% of students surveyed said that they eat less than 2 fruits or vegetables per day.

To improve students’ consumption of fruits and vegetables we can serve more fruits and vegetables in the school lunch. Students should also buy fewer soft drinks and high fat/high calorie snack foods like chips, cookies, and candy.

🍽️This data shows that most students’ favorite restaurants are Chick-fil-a and McDonalds. Most of the students pick fast food restaurants.

To make healthier decisions at fast food restaurants students should limit foods that are breaded or come with cream sauce or gravy. Students should ask to have sauces on the side. Additionally, students should avoid drinking too many calories in soda. 

This data illustrates that the most students (22.9%) have four grocery stores within a five minute drive of their house.

Small food stores are abundant in Atlanta. They are mostly found in black, low-income neighborhoods. This means that students that live there might have low-access to supermarkets. Only, 44% of these stores offer fresh produce.

This data demonstrates that most students eat 3 or 5 fruits or vegetables per day.

To improve how many servings of fruits and vegetables students eat per day we can start having more fruits and vegetables available at lunch and breakfast because they contain important vitamins, minerals, and plant chemicals. They also contain fiber.

This data conveys that most students eat fast food 4 times a week. 

To improve how many times students eat fast food in a week, they can start choosing more healthy options or eating plant based foods.

This data reveals how many students think school lunch is healthy and students that thinks school lunch is not healthy.

To improve whether school food is healthy or not we can start having more healthy options for lunch or have more plant based food.

This data communicates that the most students (23.8%) are eating fast food three days a week.

Fast food is bad for you because it is high in salt, sugar, saturated fats, trans fats, calories, and processed preservatives and ingredients. To improve fast food consumption students should order the smallest size possible and choose food that is baked or grilled.

This data shows that 86.4% of students eat at least 3 meals per day. 27.3% of students eat ten meals per day.

To improve students' eating habits we should teach them the components of a healthy meal. You should eat 3 meals a day and each meal should include, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat  milk and milk products.

This data demonstrates that 81.8% students eat fresh produce at least 3 times a day

The school should offer a wide variety of appealing choices of fruits and vegetables that can increase sales, increase student satisfaction, and even prompt students to try new foods. Offer hot vegetables alongside entrees and provide cut, raw vegetables on the salad bar or along the service

This data reveals that most students in the survey choose fast food as their favorite restaurant. The most popular Restaurant is American Deli.

To improve fast food consumption habits we can cook more meals at home to prevent from even eating out as much. To encourage students to eat less fast food we need to create more healthy restaurants around us instead of mostly fast food restaurants.

This data indicates that 65% of students eat vegetables at least 3 times a day.

It is important for students to eat vegetables because they are a good source of vitamins and minerals, including folate, vitamin C and potassium. To get kids to eat more vegetables, they can put vegetables in smoothies, use dip or seasoning, or add vegetables to sandwiches and wraps.

This data illustrates that the students’ favorite restaurant is Chick–fil-A. Also, most students picked fast food for their favorite restaurant

Eating too much fast food could lead to issues with digestion, immunity, inflammation, heart health, obesity, and more. To make better choices when eating fast food, students should avoid items that are deep fried.

This data shows that 52.3% of students have 4 or more fast food restaurants within walking distance of their house.

Students’ neighborhoods need more healthy and affordable restaurants. 

This data reveals that 36% of students eat less than 3 fruits and vegetables.

Fruits and vegetables are important for students to eat because they provide important vitamins, such as vitamin C and folic acid. To get students to eat more fruits and vegetables we could offer at least two different kinds of fruits and vegetables everyday at lunch. 

This data indicates that the majority of students (88%) say they do not eat dessert on a daily basis. 

To improve students eating habits we should try not to reward students with candy or other dessert items. When possible, we can swap desserts with healthier alternatives.

This data demonstrates that only 4% of students think that the school lunch is healthy. 

To make school lunches healthier the school should start by surveying students and parents want to see in the lunch. Also, the school could create a garden and use the produce in school lunches. Finally, the school should make sure to serve students the correct portions.

Ms. O'Hara's Class DOT and BOX PLOTS

DOT PLOTS

The following charts are dot plots created by the students to represent data they collected on food insecurity. Each dot in these plots represents a different interviewee’s answer to the question above the chart. 

This plot shows that the largest number of interviewees ate only two fruits or vegetables during the week they were interviewed. 

This plot demonstrates how most interviewees eat at least one hot chip bag per day (which doesn’t account for the many other unhealthy snacks they could be consuming in addition).

BOX PLOTS

The students also created box plots, which graphically demonstrate the data they’ve collected surrounding food insecurity. A box subdivides the data into quarters based on “quartiles” (written as Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 on the plots). The second quartile, Q2, is the median and represents the value in between the lower 50% and upper 50% of the data. The graph above indicates that the median travel time to the nearest grocery for interviewees is 13 minutes. 

Video About Food Deserts

Ms. Harness's class put together this video exploring food insecurity in their area and what can be done at Long Middle School to combat it.

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Are our children receiving healthy food options while in school?

Take a look at some of what they receive here at Crawford Long and some of the neighborhood food options?

Science Classes: Research on Food Insecurity

Research Posters

Students display their research on common unhealthy foods. 

Research Papers

Students also compiled their research on food insecurity and food deserts into written documents. Explore this Drive folder to view them!

Ms. Curtis & Mrs. Ohara's Class Statistics

Penthouse staff and students were surveyed regarding healthy food choices. 

Mr. Baker's Class Research

Penthouse students researched popular snacks and drinks to identify the harmful chemicals present.