Nourish

Our Goal

The goal of this Nourish Action project was to exemplify what we've been studying for the last week and take steps in our own lives to eat and live healthier. In this unit we learned about where our food comes from and how to make smarter food decisions to better our community and environment as well as our own health. My group, including Sola and Jacob, decided on going to the local farmers' market to shop wisely and join the community in their healthy habits. Below is our final product that further explained why we chose this and how it helps inspire healthy habits.

Content

Organic

Foods that are organic are harvested and produced without the use of any harmful pesticides or chemicals.

During the Nourish unit we watched several videos and did worksheets that emphasized and explained the importance of organic foods in our bodies and environment. Organic food has high levels of nutrients and less chemicals, which is good for our health, and it also increases biodiversity in the soil and is sustainable as well as more fresh which is better for the environment. In our project, we shopped at a place which only sold organic foods to implicate our knowledge.

Local

Local in terms of food means that what you're eating was grown from farms near to where you bought it.

This also means the food was not transported as far or sitting for as long as non-local foods would have. Eating locally can be beneficial to your health, the environment, and the economy because it is usually organic, less processed, and it pays nearby farmers and keeps them in business. Our project was centered around eating locally from our weekly farmer's market, which sells foods from local farms.

Mono crop

Mono crops are grown in the same place and soil year after year, season after season.

Crops are not rotated in places where mono crops are grown, which negatively impacts the soil through lack of nutrients, increases the use in chemicals and pesticides, and leaves fields bare after harvest before the right season. Examples of mono crops are corn and wheat.

Sustainable

Sustainable food systems are those in which use effective methods to maximize their positive impact on the environment, health, and communities.

Farms that are sustainable generate abundance and protect wildlife. Ways that farms exemplify sustainability are through practices like crop rotation, renewable clean energy, and water efficient fixtures. Farmers markets are sustainable because they minimize pollution, discard the use of pesticides, and sponsor local farms.

Pesticides

Pesticides are defined as any substance used to kill, repel, or control certain forms of plant or animal life that are considered pests.

Pesticide chemicals are used in industrialized food production and on things like mono crops. Some pesticides have the potential to damage systems within your body and also contaminate the environment and air through sprays.

Seasonal Crops

Seasonal crops are crops that are grown during a certain time of year and maintain peak productivity of flavor and quantity.

Local farms and places that feed farmers markets plant seasonal crops, like peaches in the summer and grapefruits in the winter. This is beneficial for the biodiversity of the environment and lowers the use of harmful substances.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is defined as the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

When farms plant seasonal crops and rotate their food based on when they're in season, the biodiversity goes up. This is beneficial for the health of the soil, by giving it multiple sources of nutrients, and for the environment because less pesticides and chemicals are needed.

Reflection

This project was overall successful in the sense that I was able to learn a lot about the topic and understand the reasoning behind evaluating the things I buy and eat on a daily basis. I was able to learn where my food comes from and discover how food can connect communities around the world. My group was not as helpful to me as I would have liked because they got distracted often and did not show much interest in the subject. Despite this, we were able to produce a cohesive presentation in front of the class that ran smoothly.

Two things I succeeded in doing during this project are critical thinking and being culturally competent. I had to use my brain to take what I already knew about food and adapt that thinking with the new knowledge provided to me from the unit. With my group, we had to think of ways to create an action plan to utilize what we'd learned in class. I also had to problem solve by filling in for my group when they were not being productive. Next, I had to be culturally competent by doing something that would be beneficial to the local community: supporting the farmers' market. We also watched a video in class that describes different ways in which food can be a bridge between people all across the globe, and how we should think of supporting them while making food decisions.

Two things I could have done better are being more collaborative and further encouraging my group members to take responsibility. Although I gave my teammates jobs to complete in the project, they sometimes did not finish them so instead of reminding them to, I just did it for them. Next time, I want to work on communicating my concerns with my group members and allowing them to make adjustments on their own.