Food Systems Major

March 25, 2025

Documenting Undergraduate Student Food Insecurity Through Photovoice at the University of Washington

In partnership with Drs. Michelle Averill, Derek Jennings, and Yona Sipos, capstone teams designed and conducted focus groups with undergraduate students at UW Seattle to explore their campus dining experiences in relation to food security. Qualitative data analysis enabled the teams to develop recommendations for stakeholders, offering valuable insights on how to improve student access…

Food Insecurity at the University of Washington and Beyond: A Photovoice Study

The capstone team collaborated with Dr. Michelle Averill (Director of the Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health Program) and Dr. Derek Jennings (School of Public Health Associate Dean for Indigenous Affairs) on their ongoing photovoice project to gather qualitative data on undergraduate food insecurity relative to student food environments and impacts. The team’s hope is that…

UW Food Pantry Cost Analysis

The capstone team worked with the UW Food Pantry to assess the monetary value of items acquired by Food Pantry customers. This data was used to highlight the need for increased funding and to be used in future grant applications. Community Partner: Rachael Carter, UW Food Pantry

Quantifying Impact for UW Food Pantry Sustainability: Cost Analysis

The capstone team worked with the UW Food Pantry to help with increasing donations and funding to expand operations. Deliverables focused primarily on how much the pantry is able to provide to UW students, faculty, and staff, relative to grocery prices. Community Partner: Rachael Carter, UW Food Pantry

UW Food Pantry Food Security Outreach and Education

To highlight food insecurity in college students, the capstone team worked with the UW Food Pantry to create a supplemental pamphlet intended for future inclusion in the organization’s volunteer training materials, as well as a survey to evaluate the effectiveness of that information. Deliverables also included six Instagram posts (infographics, recipes, videos, etc.) to be…

Developing Outreach Pamphlets and Syllabus Language for the UW Food Pantry

The capstone team collaborated with the UW Food Pantry to increase community awareness of growing food insecurity amongst UW students. Project deliverables included informative pamphlets for both UW faculty and donors to improve the UW Food Pantry’s outreach and increase funding. In addition, the team developed an example of syllabus language spotlighting the UW Food…

March 12, 2025

Daniel Y Queyquep

Tell us about your background and why you chose UW? As a second-generation college student to immigrant parents, I’ve always been encouraged by them to pursue higher education. The main reason why I chose to attend UW was how rich and diverse the campus life is. Coming to the Seattle campus for the first time,…

December 21, 2024

From Farm to Table: Understanding Washington State’s Food System and Seasonal Produce

Students created a workshop and accompanying produce guide for Washington Farmland Trust, an organization dedicated to conserving farmland in Washington State. The workshop includes an overview of the food system, a discussion of Washington State’s food system history, connections between farm conservation and food access, and tangible ways to support local farms. The produce guide…

Promoting and Protecting Local Farms Through Public Engagement

In partnership with Washington Farmland Trust, students created a recorded presentation, educating the public on topics important to farmland conservation. The presentation included information and research from scholarly articles, previous course knowledge, and government sources, and focused on the history of farming and inequity in the field, loss of farmland, farmland conservation, and ways that…

December 20, 2024

A Guide to Power Mapping

Students collaborated with Tilth Alliance as the organization sought power mapping tools to inform their strategic planning process for the coming years. This partnership allowed the teams to delve into power mapping, its uses, and applications, and to help identify the right tools to ensure the nonprofit would be able to create power maps effectively….