{"id":2062,"date":"2018-06-18T15:49:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-18T15:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/developmenttwo.marymount.edu\/blog\/food-for-thought-works-to-alleviate-food-insecurity\/"},"modified":"2018-06-18T15:49:00","modified_gmt":"2018-06-18T15:49:00","slug":"food-for-thought-works-to-alleviate-food-insecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marymount.edu\/blog\/food-for-thought-works-to-alleviate-food-insecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"Food For Thought Works to Alleviate Food Insecurity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What began as a way to engage Marymount University <a href=\"https:\/\/marymount.edu\/Academics\/School-of-Arts-Sciences\/Undergraduate-Programs\/Biology-B-s-B-a\">biology<\/a> students in a fun community project has grown into a thriving organization that works to alleviate local food insecurity and\u00a0promote sustainable living through urban agriculture.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Food For Thought was founded by Brenna Cook \u009218 and Dr. <a href=\"https:\/\/marymount.edu\/Home\/Contact-Us\/Directory\/?profileid=226\">Susan Agolini<\/a>, Clare Boothe Luce assistant professor of biology and physical sciences at Marymount. The student-run club started with members volunteering weekly at St. Andrew\u0092s Episcopal Church\u0092s garden, a mile from campus.<br \/>\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<br \/>\n\u0093We have had a great time working with the folks at St. Andrew\u0092s and have learned a tremendous amount from these experienced gardeners,\u0094 said Agolini, who called the dynamic between the two age groups \u0093amazing.\u0094<br \/>\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<br \/>\nGardening was new for most students.<br \/>\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<br \/>\n\u0093Probably what I have loved the most about this project is the students\u0092 level of enthusiasm,\u0094 Agolini said. \u0093We have also had students from across many disciplines sign up to help. Some come just to fulfill a civic engagement and then tell me they want to come back!\u0094<br \/>\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<br \/>\nThe club has drawn faculty and student volunteers from disciplines as diverse as\u00a0nursing, politics and fashion design. MU alumni have also participated and helped spread its message beyond campus. To date, 118 volunteers have served the project.<br \/>\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<br \/>\nThey have also worked with Arlington Friends of Urban Agriculture by planting and distributing basil seedlings to commuters at local metro stations. In addition, Cook and Agolini presented a poster on Food For Thought at the Virginia Urban Agriculture Summit in October.<br \/>\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<br \/>\nOver the winter, the nonprofit Rooftop Roots helped the club construct and plant three raised beds in a grassy area of campus that fronts North Glebe Road. Produce raised there goes to the Arlington Food Assistance Center. Food For Thought also started a chapter of the Food Recovery Network that provides prepared-but-unused food from Marymount\u0092s Gerard Dining Hall to the Arlington Street Peoples Assistance Network (A-SPAN).<br \/>\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<br \/>\nElizabeth Swanson, a senior biology major from Manassas Park, Virginia, was drawn to the group by her love for plants and interest in urban agriculture and environmental\u00a0sustainability.<br \/>\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<br \/>\n\u0093The best thing about Food for Thought is how personal it is, in every sense of the word,\u0094 said Swanson, the club\u0092s new president and first summer intern. \u0093Not only does our club attempt to assist in the ever-increasing problem of food insecurity by personally growing the produce that we donate and being there for every step of the process, we have also formed a lot of personal connections in the greater Arlington\u00a0community.\u0094<br \/>\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<br \/>\nDuring her internship, she\u0092ll continue to care for the raised-bed gardens and help out at the St. Andrew\u0092s garden as often as possible. She\u0092s also hoping to recruit more student volunteers.<br \/>\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<br \/>\n\u0093We\u0092re always looking to connect with volunteers outside of our campus as well, so anyone interested in our mission or learning about gardening\u00a0is more than welcome to contact us,\u0094 she said.<br \/>\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<br \/>\nEmail Food For Thought at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:fft@marymount.edu\">fft@marymount.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\nPhoto captions<br \/>\nPhoto 1<br \/>\nElizabeth Swanson, the first intern and current Food For Thought president, is pictured with founding president Brenna Cook \u009218.<\/p>\n<p>Photo 2<br \/>\nFood For Thought has three beds in an area of campus that fronts North Glebe Road. Produce raised there goes to the Arlington Food Assistance Center.<\/p>\n<p>Photo 3<br \/>\nElizabeth Swanson and Dr. Susan Agolini work on the raised beds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What began as a way to engage Marymount University biology students in a fun community project has grown into a thriving organization that works to alleviate local food insecurity and\u00a0promote sustainable living through urban agriculture.\u00a0 \u00a0 Food For Thought was founded by Brenna Cook \u009218 and Dr. Susan Agolini, Clare Boothe Luce assistant professor of [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/marymount.edu\/blog\/food-for-thought-works-to-alleviate-food-insecurity\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v22.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Food For Thought Works to Alleviate Food Insecurity - Marymount University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What began as a way to engage Marymount University biology students in a fun community project has grown into a thriving organization that works to . 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