Engaging youth in food systems issues: Approaches to youth development and empowerment

Jera E. Niewoehner-Green; Amanda M. Bowling; Kameron Rinehart

doi:10.37433/aad.v6i2.543

Authors

Jera E. Niewoehner-Green The Ohio State University, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0340-1956
Amanda M. Bowling The Ohio State University, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2526-725X
Kameron Rinehart Austin Peay State University, Tennessee, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4510-6306

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i2.543

Keywords:

food security, youth community engagement, SDG 2: Zero Hunger

Abstract

Food systems issues are inherently interdisciplinary as education, policy, agriculture, and health all play a role in both understanding and solving challenges. Everyone is an actor in the food system, including youth, and encouraging them to become problem-solvers, change agents, and leaders can support a more sustainable food system. To explore how youth are engaging in food systems issues, we interviewed program leaders who include food system topics in their curricula to understand if and how they are empowering youth to engage and address related challenges. Through a collective case study, we identified one convergent theme related to the role of PYD in programming. However, there was more case divergence wherein three themes describe how intentional empowerment approaches support youth development, how youth are viewed and supported as leaders, and in what ways programs are educating about food systems issues. Recommendations include moving past community service to community engagement in food systems issues and conducting research on youth’s perceived ability to address these issues.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Akah,H., Wiselogel, N., Almasi, C., & Bush Stevens, A. (2023). 2023 Health value dashboard. Health Policy Institute of Ohio. https://www.healthpolicyOhio.org/our-work/publications/2023-health-value-dashboard

Berkes, F., Colding, J., & Folke, C. (2003). Navigating social–ecological systems: Building resilience for complexity and change. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511541957

CDC. (2023, January 10). Healthy eating learning opportunities and nutrition education. CDC Healthy Schools. https://www.cdc.gov/school-nutrition/education/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/nutrition/school_nutrition_education.htm

Charbonneau, D. R., Cheadle, A., Orbé, C., Frey, M., & Gaolach, B. (2014). FEEST on this: Youth engagement for community change in the king county food and fitness initiative. Community Development, 45(3), 240–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/15575330.2014.901399

Chiessi, M., Cicognani, E., & Sonn, C. (2010). Assessing sense of community on adolescents: Validating the brief scale of sense of community in adolescents (SOC-A). Journal of Community Psychology, 38, 276–292. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20364

Christens, B. D., & Peterson, N. A. (2012). The role of empowerment in youth development: A study of sociopolitical control as mediator of ecological systems’ influence on developmental outcomes. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 623–635. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33228-424

Christens, B. D., & Zeldin, S. (2018). Community engagement. In: R. J. R. Levesque (Ed.) Encyclopedia of adolescence (pp. 682-692). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33228-424

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.

Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2015). Basics of qualitative research. Sage.

Ericksen, P. J. (2008). Conceptualizing food systems for global environmental change research. Global Environmental Change, 18(1), 234–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2007.09.002

Fulford, S., & Thompson, S. (2013). Youth community gardening programming as community development: The Youth for EcoAction program in Winnipeg, Canada. Canadian Journal of Nonprofit & Social Economy Research, 4(2), 56–75. https://doi.org/10.22230/cjnser.2013v4n2a145

Harris A., & Beckert T. (2019). Leadership emergence through volunteerism: A case study of late adolescent exemplars. Journal of Leadership Education, 18(2), 110–125. https://doi.org/10.12806/V18/I2/R9

Hamilton, S., Hamilton, M., & Pittman, K. (2004). Principles for youth development. In S. Hamilton, & M. Hamilton (Eds.), The youth development handbook: Coming of age in American communities (pp. 3–22). Sage Publications, Inc.

Holden, D. J., Evans, W.D., Hinnant, L.W., & Messeri, P. (2005). Modeling psychological empowerment among youth involved in local tobacco control efforts. Health Education & Behavior, 32(2), 264–278. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198104272336

Hunger Network in Ohio. (n.d.). These numbers have faces. https://www.hungernetOhio.com/understand-hunger

Jennings, L. B., Parra-Medina, D. M, Hilfinger-Messias, D. K., & McLoughlin, K. (2006) Toward a critical social theory of youth empowerment. Journal of Community Practice, 14(1–2), 31–55. https://doi.org/10.1300/J125v14n01_03

Kahn, L., Hewes, S., & Ali, R. (2009). Taking the lead: Youth leadership in theory and practice. The Young Foundation. https://youngfoundation.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Taking-the-Lead-October-2009.pdf?x83233

Kwan, A. (2014) Youth Food Activism. In P. B. Thompson & D. M. Kaplan (Eds.) Encyclopedia of food and agricultural ethics (pp. 1850–1856). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0929-4_431

Lewis, R. K., Lee, F. A., Brown, K. K., LoCurto, J., Stowell, D., Maryman, J., Lovelady, T., Williams, G., Morris, D. M., & McNair, T. (2018). Youth empowerment implementation project evaluation results: A program designed to improve the health and well-being of low-income African-American adolescents. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 46(1), 28–42. https://doi-org/10.1080/10852352.2018

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage Publications.

Muturi, N., Kidd, T., Daniels, A. M., Kattelmann, K. K., Khan, T., Lindshield, E., Zies, S., & Adhikari, K. (2018). Examining the role of youth empowerment in preventing adolescence obesity in low-income communities. Journal of Adolescence, 68, 242-251. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ADOLESCENCE.2018.08.001

Perkins, D. D., & Zimmerman, M. A. (1995). Empowerment theory research and application. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23(5), 569-579. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02506982

Peterson, N. A., Peterson, C. H., Agre, L., Christens, B. D., & Morton, C. M. (2011). Measuring youth empowerment: Validation of a sociopolitical control scale for youth in an urban community context. Journal of Community Psychology, 39, 592–605. https://doi-org/10.1002/jcop.20456

Rappaport, J. (1987). Terms of empowerment/exemplars of prevention: Toward a theory for community psychology. American Journal of Community Psychology, 15, 121–148. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00919275

Renwick, K., & Powell, L., (2019). Focusing on the literacy in food literacy: Practice, community, and food sovereignty. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 111(1), 24–30. https://doi.org/10.14307/JFCS111.1.24.

Roth, J. L., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2003). What exactly is a youth development program? Answers from research and practice. Applied Developmental Science, 7(2), 94–111. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532480XADS0702_6

Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.

Schusler, T. M. (2013). Environmental action and Positive Youth Development. In M. C. Monroe & M. E. Krasny (Eds.), Across the spectrum (pp. 93–115). North American Association for Environmental Education.

Shier, H. (2001). Pathways to participation: Openings, opportunities, and obligations. Children and Society, 15, 105-117. https://doi.org/10.1002/chi.617

Smelkova, L. (2015). Food education in America. Center for Science in the Public Interest. Washington, DC. https://kiesel.ucdavis.edu/Food_education_report_Dec2015.pdf

Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Sage Publications

United States Agency for International Development (USAID). (n.d.). Youth power: What works in youth and agriculture, food security, and nutrition. https://www.youthpower.org/what-works-youth-and-agriculture-food-security-and-nutrition

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). (2021). Dialogue summary: Youth voices in sustainable U.S. food systems. https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Youth-Dialogue-Summary-USDA.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). (2023). Food security in the U.S.: Key statistics and graphics, 2022. Economic Research Service. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-u-s/key-statistics-graphics/#map

University of Oxford. (n.d.). What is the food system? Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food. https://www.futureoffood.ox.ac.uk/what-food-system

Wong N. T., Zimmerman, M. A., & Parker, E. A. (2010). A typology of youth participation and empowerment for child and adolescent health promotion. American Journal of Community Psychology, 46, 100–114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9330-0

Yeboah, F. K. (2018). Youth for growth: Transforming economies through agriculture. Global Food Security Report. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/sites/default/files/report_youth-for-growth_20180322.pdf

Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and application: Design and methods (6th ed). Sage.

Zimmerman M. A. (2000). Empowerment theory. In J. Rappaport J., & E. Seidman (Eds.), Handbook of community psychology (pp. 43–63). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4193-6_2