Embedded Files
Our Goal
Our Goal
We want to provide downtown campus students with a means of year-round, healthy, convenient, and consistent availability of food allowing them to focus more on school and have a huge burden lifted from their shoulders. Our goal is to find out what type of produce would be utilized the most if grown and what locations would be most successful. A food pantry is a good start when referring to helping out students that are food insecure but we want to create a way that students would never have to become food insecure to begin with.
The Problem & The Solution
The Problem & The Solution
Problem
Problem
Food insecurity is becoming more and more common among students in college because of the rising costs of living, tuition, and textbooks. More people are able to attend college than ever before and this is possible because of the availability of student loans, government aid, and scholarships; however, these aids only go so far when it comes to helping out students, the coupling of more lower and middle class people being able to attend college with the unbelievable costs of tuition, textbooks, and rent is what has been causing food insecurity to affect so many students. When students cannot buy food that is adequate in nutrients because it costs too much, they turn to cheap processed foods with little to no nutritional value which in the end neglects their body and their ability to learn.
The Solution
The Solution
We believe that the very least we could do (student organizations and universities) is to provide some sort of relief when it comes to students finding their next meal. What we want to do is to provide greenhouse gardens that consist of vertical constructed gardens, such as a hydroponic vertical garden, to students on downtown. The students downtown are at a disadvantage because they don't have a food pantry, a meal swipe donation program like the Allendale campus has, and that is why we believe implementing this downtown would be the most beneficial option.
Design Thinking
Design Thinking
steps:
steps:
Empathize: Through learning about food insecurity on campus, we were able to observe the problem that many GVSU students face. Our perspective as students allows us to see how food insecurity impacts all areas of student life and wellness.
Define: We set a goal to build/create a plan for the downtown campus at GVSU to provide a sustainable healthy food source for the community and the students.
Ideate: During this process of "idea generation," we conducted personal interviews and gathered secondary sources to brainstorm possible ways to tackle food insecurity on our campus in Grand Rapids.
Prototype: We created our three phase plan, which generates a new way to provide fresh produce to students and campus dining on GVSU's downtown campus, while also serving the community.
Test: We have built a website to showcase our solution and to gather feedback from others.
Our Plan
Our Plan
Three Phase Plan
Three Phase Plan
PHASE ONE: During phase one of our plan, mobile hydroponic gardens can be set up around locations of the downtown campus as a feasible way to test growing different produce that will eventually be planted in larger proportions in phase two. Phase one is designed to attract student involvement and monitor the growth of plants; testing what works and what doesn’t.
PHASE TWO: In phase two, after testing the mobile hydroponic gardens, a rooftop greenhouse can be assembled, with a student staff and faculty and campus dining supervisors. This will not only provide jobs for students, but the objective of the greenhouse will focus on supplying fresh food to campus dining locations in the downtown GVSU campus. This process will promote food security by providing fresh, locally grown produce to students on campus. Working with Replenish during this phase would further aid to decrease food insecurity on campus.
PHASE THREE: Once phase two has proved profitable and sustainable, then phase three can be implemented, which takes the resources of GVSU’s garden and the connections of local non-profits to extend the services of the garden to those who suffer from food insecurity in the Grand Rapids area. The produce grown on campus will be distributed to families in need through partnerships within the community.
Community Connections
Community Connections
Replenish & Our Kitchen Table
Replenish & Our Kitchen Table
A campus relationship that would benefit from this project is Replenish, which is currently one of GVSU’s only resources for students struggling with food insecurity. Replenish would inform at-risk students of the opportunities of the garden downtown, and would increase campus support for phase one and two. A desired community connection would be the nonprofit organization Our Kitchen Table, which facilitates residential and community gardens that allow people in food deserts to access fresh produce locally. For our project, this would be a great organization to partner with once we reach Phase 3. Our Kitchen Table has the knowledge and resources to distribute produce, and with this plan of action, GVSU will have the means to grow it.
funding
funding
The Student Agricultural Project or SAP is currently accepting applications for grants, the SAP is a project that GVSU has built in which they have greenhouses, compost, student clubs/organizations, and even plots of land for students to rent. Which would be a perfect organization for our project idea as they are devoted to helping solve the food insecurity problem on campus and are already working hard on projects involving crops.
Through a student interview, we have found that the newest President for GVSU is in full support of relieving the issues around food insecurity. Which is fantastic news as this shows that the president is aware of the problem. If we are able to get the president on board with our plan then funding should be much easier to find.
Location
Location
Interactive Map of the Downtown Campus
The location will be determined off of what phase we are in, as...
Phase ONE is being implemented we will use mobile hydroponic stations around campus, these can be in doors or out, as they are built with all the supplies needed to grow crop.
Phase TWO will consist of a rooftop greenhouses, in which the location will be set on the rooftops of buildings that are able to hold a greenhouse. Not many buildings downtown have a flat roof for this, which isn't a problem as a greenhouse can be built into a roof. Eberhard and Jon C. Kennedy Engineering Hall offer a flat location for a greenhouse to be placed.
Phase THREE is to be more of an addition to the project through community outreach, as this does not need a specific location, and will change over time.
References
References
ClassMate Interview. GVSU 2020 “File that shows President knows of and is in support of
fighting food insecurity on Campus”
“Grants Available for SAP Projects.” Grants Available for SAP Projects - GVNext, 15 Jan. 2019,
www.gvsu.edu/gvnext/2019/grants-available-for-sap-projects-10864.htm.
King, Sara. 2020 Personal Interview
Marlowe, Gavin. Personal Interview. 26 Feb. 2020.
Mello, Christina, “Growing Food, Growing Consciousness: Gardening and Social Justice in Grand Rapids, Michigan.” Culture, Agriculture, Food and Environment, 2017, pp. 143–145.
Sellnau, Margaux. 2020 Personal Interview SAP
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