Meg Duell

Roundtable Abstract

Meg Duell (University of Lausanne)

Activism in the exchange of ideas is a powerful tool for creating social change. Equally, the social and cultural power of the university can be leveraged to create direct action. One such example of the latter is the work being done at the University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Energy and Environmental Education; their partnership with AmeriCorps has allowed them to tackle ecological, economic, and food-system injustice while providing jobs to students and young professionals.

Despite huge neighboring agricultural operations, many neighborhoods in Black Hawk County, Iowa, lack access to grocery stores and affordable produce. This is especially true in Waterloo, Iowa, where the city’s history of segregation and discrimination, as well as the influence of big agriculture, has created large urban food deserts. The Waterloo Greens2Go Non-Profit Mobile Produce Stand might act as a case study for direct action in the university: we were able to wield the support and influence of the institution to open doors and create partnerships with community stakeholders like the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, city government and hospitals, and EMBARC (The Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center) to form a local food-distribution model—including a community garden—that both patronized and provided food options to an intersectional network of people invested in community health over profit.

 

Last updated on April 23rd, 2024

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