By Laura Hancock | Media and Publications Writer
University Advancement | lhancock@eou.edu
La Grande, Oregon – Nearly 15 percent of local residents in Union County will feel the effects of hunger or food insecurity at one time or another. Some feel the effects everyday.
Haven from Hunger, a project initiated by three Eastern Oregon University professors to help ease the effects of hunger, has received $4,000 in funding from Campus Compact of Oregon to continue efforts at the local level.
Bill Grigsby associate professor of sociology, Linda Jerofke, assistant professor of anthropology, and Rosemary Powers, associate professor of sociology, have been co-collaborators on the project from the beginning. The three educators wanted to find a way to integrate community development and project management into the anthropology and sociology degree programs offered at EOU.
Haven from Hunger was the answer. The grant from Campus Compact will help fund two upcoming projects over a nine-month period. The Haven team wants to collaborate with local school students, starting at the kindergarten level and continuing through high school, incorporating hunger awareness and art into the curriculum. An art contest will then be held for a calendar illustrating a hunger and food theme.
The second project is called “Thoughtful Third Thursday,” a concept developed by Jana Parmele, who works in the Career Center at EOU. The goal of this project will be to secure regular donations from businesses and their employees to help purchase items through Community Connections in La Grande. Students in anthropology, art, sociology, media arts and business economics classes will be involved in both projects.
“We hope to seek a longer term grant that will help us incorporate Haven from Hunger sustainability into what we do, and with what we hope are tangible benefits for our students and the community,” Grigsby said. “This involves strengthening networks of food provision, raising awareness of the problems of hunger and food insecurity locally, eliminating the stigma associated with asking for assistance, and turning the projects over to students with some faculty supervision.”
Campus Compact provides support and assistance to universities and faculty members wishing to strengthen the connection between students and the communities where they live through service learning. Student led projects for Haven from Hunger have included surveys of food banks and their recipients, the creation of a community garden and organizing non-food item drives for those in need.
Eastern Oregon University
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Email: advancement@eou.edu