Food Next Door: From Food Literacy to Citizenship on a College Campus

Industrial agriculture and food corporations have produced an abundance of food that is highly processed, nutritionally poor, and environmentally burdensome. As part of a healthy campus initiative, generated to address these and other food production and consumption dilemmas, a student-run “local and sustainable” food establishment called Food Next Door (FND) was created. This intrinsic case study evaluated food literacy in health science students, faculty, and staff first as a pilot to build the case for FND and further explicated customers’, volunteers’, and leads’ experiences with FND, identifying potential pathways from food literacy to citizenship. Ten returning customers, eight recurring nutrition student volunteers, and three graduate student leads participated in interviews that were analyzed for themes and subthemes. The findings show a progression in themes. Customers’ experiences highlight FND’s fresh, flavorful food, smiling and supportive staff, and personal transformation. Volunteers’ themes identified greater awareness of new foods and plant-based eating, acquiring new knowledge and skills in commercial kitchens, and deepening their connection to food, each other, and to where food comes from. Leads’ themes show opportunities to gain managerial skills, a deeper understanding of food and skills from being immersed in value-based food systems, and confidence in peer teaching. Experiencing and becoming part of the food value chain through FND built food literacy, shifted values, and transformed students into food citizens.