Growing Collective Efficacy using a Statewide Gardening Campaign: �A Grow This! Experiment
Kristin McCartney, MPH, RDN, LD
WVU Extension Public Health Specialist
9 out of 10 �of all �high food insecure counties �are �Rural�and �8 out of 10 �are in the
South
15% of all households with children in the US are food insecure
Single mother households have almost double the rate of food insecurity of single dads and married couples
Food Insecurity, Chronic Disease & �Access to Care
In CHILDREN, food insecurity leads to higher rates of….
In ADULTS, food insecurity leads to higher rates of….
Food Security
Household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.
Nutrition Security
Consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, affordable foods essential to optimal health and well-being
Four mega-corporations’ control 80% of the food system from seed to slaughterhouse, with only 15% of the profits going to farmers.
Food Security is protection and distribution of existing food systems
Food Sovereignty is a democratic process of food system development that considers needs of producers and consumers.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
“High food prices reflect the increased costs of inputs to agriculture, e.g., fertilizer, labor shortages, and infrastructure problems, such as shortages of shipping containers and truck drivers to bring foods from processing centers to market”.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
Food Citizenship��Throughout both world wars, the Victory Garden campaign served as a successful means of �boosting morale, �expressing patriotism, safeguarding against food shortages �and �easing the burden on the commercial farmers working arduously to feed troops and civilians overseas.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
The Grow This! Challenge �is a call to action to come together around a single cause-to GROW West Virginia's health, economy and nutrition security.���Since 2018, over 300,000 West Virginia residents have participated
Communication Infrastructure Theory
�Storytelling Network + Context
= Increase in Collective Efficacy and Civic Engagement
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
The Experiment
Can a series of Grow This! challenges serve as a platform for engaging WVU Extension faculty and staff in collective implementation and evaluation of efforts to build nutrition security.
�Provide education and support to MAXIMIZE PRODUCTION of Grow This! crops
Garden Education & Sustainability Challenges
�Help Grow This! participants SAVE MONEY by learning how to preserve fruits and vegetables.
Get Grow This! Crops on the Menu
Earn points for providing education on how to prepare Grow This! crops.
Earn points for each meal or snack served that contains kale, carrots or peppers.
Grow This! County Kits
To help engage with your county Grow This! participants, each county will receive:
Scales to weigh produce
Container garden bags
Marketing materials etc.
Grow This! Dashboard
The dashboard is a strategy for storytelling and building context both internally, within Extension, and with community partners.
Scan here to learn more or join the movement
Facebook.com/growthiswv
Instagram.com/growthiswv