Katie Sanders, PhD

To solve complex food system challenges and adapt to climate change, there is a need for agricultural graduates who have technical competence but also understand impacts on the environment and society. In order to meet the growing demand for skilled professionals and increase minority participation in the agricultural workforce, we propose to develop the Agroecology Scholars Program in Research and Extension (ASPIRE) for Diversity REEU program. We will recruit 30 students, 10 per year for 3 years with at least 50% women and at least 40% from traditionally underrepresented groups to participate in a 10-week paid summer program. The program consists of 5 main activities comprising: 1) introductory tour, ���Diverse Communities and Agriculture across NC���; 2) faculty-mentored research training; 3) structured ladder mentorship and network opportunities; 4) integrated extension activities; and 5) student-centered professional skills development and agriculture career exploration. Engaging diverse undergraduates in hands-on, cutting-edge sustainable agriculture and food systems research while providing professional development training will increase student interests and capacity in agriculture and food systems. Our project team of multidisciplinary researchers and educators in agroecology, robust stakeholder partnerships within the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), Cooperative Extension and resources at North Carolina State University will ensure a quick start and successful program. Our objectives serve AFRI-EWD goal #2 of promoting experiential learning for undergraduates and preparing students to enter the agriculture workforce or graduate programs with technical and leadership skills

The overall objective of this proposal to provide county-based, Extension internships with applied research components in cropping systems, climate smart agriculture, and communications.

(tentative) This project utilizes evidence-based obesity prevention strategies in multiple community settings, in order to provide an integrated approach to healthy eating and physical activity in the eastern NC counties with the highest obesity rates.

Stakeholder-driven prioritization has identified the critical need to provide a collaborative research, extension, and education platform between the Vitis and Muscadinia breeding communities to develop wide Vitis x Muscadinia hybrids to enhance disease resistance and fruit quality traits. This project is, to our knowledge, the first national effort focusing on the synergistic potential for interdisciplinary research on disease resistance and quality traits in Muscadinia and Vitis. The Vitis x Muscadinia (V x M) wide hybrid crosses can result in Muscadinia-type hybrids (modified backcrosses to muscadine grape with quality traits introgressed from V. vinifera) and Vitis-type hybrids (modified backcrosses to V. vinifera with disease resistance and possibly desirable flavors and aromas introgressed from Muscadinia).

The Systems Thinking for Educational Problem Solving (STEPS) toward a Sustainable Future project will generate innovative tools for teaching systems thinking to undergraduate students in land-grant university classrooms. Graduates of land-grant universities will be the future workforce charged with solving complex, wicked problems at the nexus of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences created and exacerbated by climate change. The system-wide impacts and influences of climate change make linear, short-term solutions inappropriate for addressing complex problems. However, teaching tools within higher education which integrate systems thinking into agricultural and environmental contexts to improve students��� critical thinking capacity are lacking. To address this gap, the STEPS project will create and test nine reusable learning objects (RLOs) which can be integrated into any classroom using hypothetical case scenarios (HCS). HCS, also known as choose-your-own-adventure scenarios, are a teaching method used to gamify learning with the intention of enhancing student engagement within the classroom. HCS tools present students with realistic scenarios, providing an opportunity to support and justify decisions within a structured group environment. Students exposed to the STEPS project RLOs will be better equipped to solve complex problems within the context of climate change because of engagement with real life scenarios that elicit and improve critical thinking. The STEPS project website and robust communication plan will ensure educators across the U.S. will have access to the RLOs, and associated training, allowing them to integrate the tools into any traditional or virtual classroom easily.

Regionalization has been identified as one strategy to promote food system resilience. However, many of the markets that are the hallmark of local food systems, such as farmers markets, have historically excluded consumers who are lower-income and of color. Farm to Institution programs, such as Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE), School, University, and Senior Services, are one strategy to address this equity issue. These community institutions are a primary source of meals for children, youth, and older adults, especially in rural areas, and often rely on federal food assistance programs to subsidize feeding programs. Integrating local food into meals and snacks at these institutions has the potential to improve consumer access to healthy food, while also opening up new markets for small scale, limited resource farmers. Research has shown that selling into wholesale markets, such as institutions, increases the economic viability of small to mid-size regional farmers more than selling into direct markets alone. Despite these benefits, many historically marginalized and underrepresented farmers of color lack the infrastructure, resources, and experience needed to access these markets, due to historical discrimination in resource allocation. Most small to mid-sized farms also do not have the same logistical and scale-related efficiencies observed in the mainstream food system, resulting in higher marginal costs. This has led to the question of how local food systems can be ���scaled-up��� so that the lower prices in wholesale markets can be offset by bulk volumes and supply chain efficiencies to increase profitability. The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) has implemented Farm to Institution (F2I) programs in North Carolina for many years. Through this work, we have identified and documented several barriers to establishing successful supply chains, including the volume, type, availability and distribution of products. However, we have never intentionally coordinated local food procurement among multiple F2I programs. We hypothesize that F2I supply chain coordination will generate strategies that can address the challenges observed when programs are implemented individually. We anticipate these strategies might include a system for aggregating orders and production planning to increase the volume purchased, specifications for aesthetically imperfect products (���seconds���), and shared distribution routes to reduce costs. We propose piloting and evaluating a coordinated F2I approach in Robeson County, North Carolina, a rural county with the highest Native American population in the state. We will work with a newly formed cooperative of farmers who are members of the Lumbee Tribe to assess their readiness and provide technical assistance to facilitate institutional market access and promote climate resilience agricultural practices. We will conduct a market assessment and supply chain analysis across these four institution types to develop strategies that streamline F2I local food procurement. We will conduct formative and summative evaluations to make mid project adjustments, and identify best practices. Finally, we will work with NC Cooperative Extension���s Local Food Program Team to create a F2I Work Group that will develop a Farm to Institution Toolkit for Extension Agents, and host five regional district Extension trainings.

North Carolina State University (NCSU) will lead the training objective and contribute to the communications and research objectives of the Real Pork Trust and Image Consortium. The NCSU efforts will be led by a multidisciplinary team of 11 faculty cutting across colleges and departments. The Real Pork Trust and Image Training Program, led by North Carolina State University, will provide professional development to help the next generation of subject matter experts learn how to communicate science about pork and pork production to target audiences. Specific focus will be given to the Spectrum of Concerns and the We Care�� Ethical Principles. Cohorts of students will build skills in leveraging media and social media platforms and translating complex, scientific messages into understandable content. Distinct yet overlapping programs for cohorts of students are proposed. These programs will also provide Real Pork Scholars and graduate students funded to conduct research projects through the consortia with training, networking opportunities, and peer support. NC State and NC A&T State University will collaborate in identifying gaps, conducting research and providing multidisciplinary training for graduate students in Pork Production and One Health. Our multidisciplinary team of animal scientists, veterinarians, economists, environmental scientists, engineers, One Health and communications faculty will: Research, understand and make recommendations that demonstrate, optimize and improve the interconnections between people, animals, plants and their shared environment.

The purpose of the SNAP-Education grant delivered by the Steps to Health team is to deliver nutrition and physical activity education to limited resource audience at the individual level and provide multi-level strategies/interventions to promote policy, systems, and environmental change and social marketing across North Carolina, with 100 counties and the EBCI potentially receiving high levels of intervention.

This proposal seeks funds to support research and outreach for proactive communication around the use of CRISPR in the pork industry. Through applied research on consumer risk perceptions and willingness to purchase CRISPR pork products, we will create issue guides, trainings, and media kits to support extension and outreach professionals in their communication around this emerging issue.