Feeding the Whole Child, Whole Family, and Whole Community through Civic Engagement

At a Glance

This project led by Marshfield Clinic seeks to improve food security for children and families in rural northern Wisconsin by partnering with after school programs on the four pillars of food security: availability of healthy foods, access to healthy foods, knowledge about preparation and stability of diet. Maggie Bohm-Jordan, PhD, Department of Sociology and Social Work, UW–Stevens Point, serves as the academic partner.

The Challenge

Food insecurity is a consequence of multiple broken systems, leading to insurmountable challenges for those affected. The four pillars of food security include availability of healthy foods, access to healthy foods, knowledge about preparation and stability of diet. Without intervention at some level, the four pillars of food security erode. For example, poverty reduces access to sufficient food as well as to proper food sources. This limitation reduces stability within the diet that leads to documented health and behavioral challenges that often manifest as inattentiveness, absenteeism, and emotional outbursts in children and long-term adverse health outcomes such as obesity and diabetes. Food sources are also dictated by zip code, creating food deserts in some locations where options for shopping or access to fresh foods are limited. Regional data, including a high percentage of youth eligible for free/reduced meals and elevated child food insecurity rates, underscores the pressing need for intervention in addressing these barriers.

Project Goals

The goal of this project is to reduce food insecurity among children and their families in target regions, including Antigo, Nekoosa, Park Falls, Rhinelander, Rice Lake and Stevens Point, with AmeriCorps members in each location supporting regional capacity and connecting families to existing local resources. The project will address this goal through three aims:

1. Address food insecurity for children and families through Out of School Time (OST) organizations.
2. Address food insecurity within the community.
3. Address food insecurity on a multi-system level with support from stakeholders.