Group work, individual papers

We will either focus on Haven from Hunger entirely, or combine it with assisting ODHS in evaluating how SNAP access to Pacific Islanders is faring. If that happens, and you work on both, you would have two parts to your paper. Each person should turn in a paper of 5-7 pages in length (the usual specs, 1″ margins, 11-12 pt font). Follow the guidelines above for your chosen project. Some parts of the paper:

• Background. This section should discuss more generally the area in which you’ve chosen to work (e.g., emergency food bank, fundraising, working on social media/publicity, ODHS, Meals on Wheels, etc.). I’ll put resources I receive or discover on this page.
• Research. What did you read (cite all sources as you go and your reference list will be easy at the end), with whom did you speak or work (e.g., personal references from people working in the community), what resources of value did you find, digital, print, physical, etc.?
• Action. Where you actively participate and plan for activities related to the project. You will each need to document your participation–I expect at least 20 hours of work–beyond the time we spend in class–from getting organized to writing up your individual papers. These are term papers, in lieu of a final exam.
• Learning, reflection. You should have a section in which you examine your learning, the impacts on the project of your group’s undertakings, and any insights or suggestions you have, grounded in your research and experiences, as the project(s) moves forward (for future students and classes).

We will use some days in class to work on these projects. There will be resources in Google Drive, so you can bring a laptop or use your phones to access those in class.

100 pts possible. You will each turn in a paper by Dec 11, documenting your individual work on these projects, as well as how the group functioned, and we will discuss the projects during the Finals block (8-10am December 11, sorry!). ALSO … if it makes a difference–that is, you can get more work done especially with some feedback from Wednesday morning–you can submit your paper in Canvas by Thursday (Dec 12) midnight.

Here is the link to the Google Drive page with specifics on your options for getting in hours, if you need them. Keep in mind: Specifics are critical for ensuring continuity from one group of students to the next. No detail is too trivial when someone has to come in and make sense of what others before them have done. Also, consider at the end a ‘Next Steps’ section–what you see as the next things students must do to continue the work of the project. 

Haven from Hunger

This is a project that has been active since 2003. Haven has done a wide variety of projects, but they all fall under the general umbrella of the goals for a student-run, community development initiative. The Anth/Soc Department has been running projects under the the Haven from Hunger initiative for over 20 years. One of the most enduring projects has been the emergency food bank. Students will need to spend time learning what the food bank does, how it functions, how it is funded, who it serves, and how it could be improved to serve more people, especially EOU students. I will ask this class to come up with a plan for how the food bank could better live up to its goals (see below).  We’ll discuss in class, and work with students, ASEOU, alumni and community members who are working on the project (this varies from year-to-year, term-to-term). So we will flesh out project requirements early in the term. What you can anticipate is that your grade on this particular part of the course will be based on your individual contribution, as specified in your individual write-up, and on the stated goals of the project groups (i.e., did you set realistic goals and meet them?).

Some areas worthy of focus:

• Helping with taking the food phone (where we take calls and make up food boxes);
• Working on social media (we have Facebook and Instagram accounts);
• Working with the Student Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Multicultural Center, and the DEIB Office;
• You may have other ideas as well. 

A brief description (of Haven from Hunger)

Long-term project goals:

1. Increase community and household food security and alleviate hunger. La Grande’s poverty and food insecurity rates (insecurity implies uncertainty of supply) are high, some estimates are near 20% of the population.
2. Build social capital. HfH seeks to work with those already working on the problem, to strengthen community food networks and campus/community collaboration on hunger-related and food-producing activities.
3. Build a student-run organization to coordinate and manage the project. This could include recruiting volunteers for projects planned (e.g., student clubs).

Project objectives:

• Work with community partners, providers of food assistance and food production/provision (e.g., gleaning).
• Raise awareness of the local problem and reduce the stigma of receiving/ seeking food assistance;
• Integrate student participation (using curricular/extracurricular means);
• Conduct research that illuminates local hunger issues and identifies opportunities for community engagement and public participation.

Haven from Hunger has in recent years focused most efforts on its emergency food pantry. Students have worked on food and non-food drives to ensure an adequate supply of food for clients (in an average year, the pantry provides between 500 and 1000 lbs of food to community members).

Students choosing to work on this project need to specify what they intend to do. You may want to work with our Soc faculty (myself, Dr. Puentes and Dr. Gougherty), in identifying the most pressing needs. Pamela Fredrick-Williams is EOU’s Benefits Navigator, and she would be a great resource and contact as well (especially if you’re working on reaching out to students). Food drive projects should incorporate the following:

• Identify and justify the project, and how it reflects the goals and objectives of Haven from Hunger.
• Background–your papers should each provide some context. For instance, an understanding of the problem of hunger and food insecurity, what kinds of services/agencies address those problems, etc.
• Division of labor–each student should have a section that highlights what each member of your group did. But your own paper will expand on your own activities, and provide the detail necessary to show your level of participation and commitment to the project.
• Description of project–What did your group set out to do? Identify each component of the project, and detail and justify decisions and choices your group made (e.g., about what kind of food drive to do, how to go about publicizing it (specifics needed here–did you use media? Print? Radio? Web? Campus? Social media? Etc.), where to conduct, how to describe it to participants, any interactions in seeking equipment or donations needed to carry out the food drive, individuals whose approval you needed, etc.
• Results of your project–If you did a food drive how many pounds collected, what kind of food, what materials you used/produced, observations about the drive itself (people you talked to, for instance if you went door-to-door, or challenges of holding a food drive at an existing event), any follow-up required (cleaning up, rotating inventory in the food pantry, working with Bridget, etc.).
• Discussion of project–This is where you make observations about how the project went, what might have gone better,  what you learned about the project or working in a small group, etc. Detail in this section as with the others is important in demonstrating your engagement with the project.

Resources

• Link to project doc
• Link to documents related to the project from other classes and projects (use your EOU account to access).
• Additional information on Haven from Hunger (history, background, previous projects)