Case Study: A Community-Based Approach to Mitigating Climate Change and Food Insecurity

Catalog description

The Penn Food and Wellness Collaborative (PFWC), including Penn Park Farm (PPF), was established through seed funding from the Your Big Idea Wellness competition in 2019. To date, we’ve grown nearly 2,500lbs of produce that has been distributed free of charge to food insecure students, HUP employees, and West Philadelphia residents. Using the PPF as a learning laboratory, this course will explore the link between climate change, food insecurity and physical and mental health across the lifespan. Students will engage with community partners to identify the best mechanism for meeting food insecurity and improving physical and mental health among students, faculty and staff on campus and among members of all ages in the communities surrounding Penn. In collaboration with the learning lab, instructor led seminars and discussions support the identification, development and completion of a community-based project.