Danielle Smull (l-r), Clint Gardner and Max Corwin inspect one of SLCC Gardens plots. Food grown in these plots helps supply Bruin Pantries with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Salt Lake
Community College was one of several institutions recently selected to receive
a Ford College Community Challenge grant of $25,000 in order to lead
transformational change in their community. Each institution’s project will be
led by students who will work with a nonprofit to address one of the following
categories: social mobility, smart mobility or building a sustainable
community.
Salt Lake
Community College’s project is called SLCC Eats, launched from the Thayne
Center and the Student Leaders in Civic Engagement (SLiCE). The project seeks
to address inequities, including the national statistic that 23% of community
college students face food insecurity, in part by supporting hungry students
access to healthy food and nutrition education to stay focused on school and
work.
“SLCC is proud to
actively address food security for our community,” says Dr. Kathryn Kay
Coquemont, Associate Vice President for Student Success. “Our Thayne Center for
Service & Learning hopes to not only
provide quality food through the Bruin Pantry, but also help communities learn
how to increase their access to food through sustainable gardening. We are
enormously thankful to the Ford Motor Company for their support in helping us
meet this need.”
The grant is
earmarked not only to align and elevate the conversation of justice-oriented food
systems but to establish SLCC Eats grants as a catalyst for student-driven
projects related food access, nutrition, and sustainability. The project will
explore the feasibility of several efforts including increased access to
ready-to-eat meals, increased education for nutrition programs, and aquaponics
and gardening education as well as the continued growth of the Bruin Pantries
and SLCC Gardens.
Through the Ford College Community Challenge, Ford Motor Company Fund aims to support
colleges and universities as they work with students to design and develop
tangible community projects that address critical local needs in new ways, with
a focus on helping the community become a more sustainable place to work and
live. Ford College Community Challenge (Ford C3), is an innovative grant-making
initiative designed to inspire students at higher education organizations to
catalyze community-building projects focused on addressing pressing local
needs. Ford C3 is an educational initiative of Ford Motor Company Fund, the
philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company. More details about the program and
previous winners can be found at https://www.fordblueovalnetwork.org/ford-college-community-challenge.
Each year, up to
ten grants are awarded throughout the country in this prestigious and very
selective program. Winning proposals must consider, in a unique way, a
precisely identified, unmet community need tied to the theme in one of three
broad categories:
·
Driving
Social Mobility
·
Changing
the Way People Move through Smart Mobility
·
Building
Sustainable Communities
Projects must
also:
·
Address
pressing community issues in a tangible way
·
Involve
students in a significant leadership role
·
Include
a community-based partner
