Media & Movements Seminar |
Food Insecurity Project
(2021)
Moral imagination, radical re-imagination, and abundant creativity were three aspects of this project my group and I had to implement. For 15 weeks we studied the background of the issue, conducted both primary (field) and secondary research, and analyzed the food insecurity issues on Kent State University’s campus.
This section is dedicated to showcasing the campaign, social media use, design, outreach, and activism that went into this project. I am more than happy to share findings and expand upon the project if asked!
Other members include: Megan Becker, Craig Bruns, Jason Cohen, Sophie Griffin, Alencia Lang, and Jacob Matson
01. Paper Plates
In order for us to gather more insight from students, we decided to create a paper plate survey. When given a paper plate, students would write their own definition of food insecurity along with their name, year, and area of study. This was conducted in front of the MAC gym on Kent State University’s campus since it is one of the busiest areas during school hours.
Some of our findings from the 65 responses include:
52.5% of students said their definition of food insecurity had to do with financial restrictions
32.1% of students said food insecurity is related to eating disorders or anxiety about eating
18% of students said their definition of food insecurity was a lack of nutritional food
After conducting our first field research, we continued engaging in outreach tactics through tabling events to spread our message and campaign. Once we collected all the plates, we wanted to have an installation so that students were continuously exposed to our project.
Fortunately, we were given permission to install our paper plates in one of the new lecture buildings that consistently have students visiting. Along with putting the plates up, we also placed flyers surrounding the installation and throughout the building that explained what our project consists of and our upcoming events. We also started promoting the social media pages created.
02. Student Manifesto
Created from collected student feedback and stories from tabling events and the town hall, designed for President Todd Diacon to read
03. Social Media Campaign
For this project, we created an Instagram and TikTok page to spread more awareness about our group, connect students to resources, and create an online presence
Instagram:
@CommunityTableKSU
We used our page to:
Introduce who we are as a group
Provide informative posts about the research we have done
Invite people to our events such as our tabling and town hall event
Spread awareness about some resources such as SNAP benefits
TikTok:
@CommunityTableKSU
We used our page to:
Explain what makes a student qualified for SNAP benefits
Showcase the CARES center, allowing them to talk about how to sign up for benefits
Showcase our delivery to President Todd Diacon
04. Main Activism Tactic
“The only limit to advocacy tactics is your imagination”
While brainstorming, we knew we wanted to do something bold for our tactic and we wanted the President of Kent State to know about the issues on campus regarding food insecurity. Furthermore, we came up with a pizza delivery scheme.
For a few weeks, we had hosted tabling events and conducted a town hall in order to gather information, hear student voices, collect evidence, and create a student manifesto.
Our idea was to present this information to Todd Diacon, the President of Kent State University. We did this by delivering a pizza box but instead of pizza, it was our research.
The pizza box consisted of:
Select paper plates with student’s definitions
Our quick facts flyer about who we are and what we have been researching
The student manifesto
An email received by a student from dining services that was insufficient and not handled properly
We went to Diacon’s office, but unfortunately the secretary stopped us saying he had meetings all day. We provided our contact information and left the box outside of his office. In the end, we received no response or recognition from Diacon.
05. Reimagination Demonstration:
Community Table
For this demonstration, I created a brand new dining area where students from all financial backgrounds, students with dietary restrictions, and food anxiety are welcomed and feel safe. This would be located in one of the old dining halls that have been removed and is currently empty, the design is suited for this hall.
First, what is Community Table?
Community Table is an alternative dining space for all. The goal is to serve food that is accessible to everyone regardless of food restrictions, financial security, or eating disorders.
All the food is gluten-free, eliminating the risk of cross contamination
We also would have to-go options at no additional cost (unlike the other dining halls on campus) for students who do not feel comfortable eating in public
What makes Community Table unique?
This is a pay what you can system. Community Table accepts any form of payment and people can pay whatever they are able to. No one will know how much someone pays or does not pay by having everyone swipe their cards. Once the card is swiped, there will be a recommended amount but the student will input their own amount. Along with this, donations are available and students can work here in exchange for free meals. This dining hall would also be in partnership with organizations on campus such as Flashes Fighting Hunger, CARES center, and the nutrition program.
What also makes Community Table unique is the layout and a rotating menu that ensures dietary restrictions and cultures are accounted for.
The New Dining Hall
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Entrance
This is the view from the entrance where students would sign in at the kiosk. It showcases the daily salad bar and the stations that would have a rotating menu
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Regular seating
Regular seating that is comparable to other dining halls on campus. Although, there would be a community table where students have the option to gather and sit around to make new friends and socialize if they desire
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Comfort lounge
A lounge for students to gather and talk comfortably
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Sectioned-off private seating
For those who have social and food anxiety, we created seating that is sectioned off so people will not have to worry about others seeing them eat
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Market
We envision Community Table having a market where students can get fresh food and produce along with more options for those with dietary restrictions
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Kitchen
The kitchen is available for students to bring in their own food and ingredients where they can cook without having to worry about needing their own pots and pans.