I am near completion– presentation Aug 6. Quite a learning endeavor and many thanks to Dr Cohen for guidance and encouragement, and also to Rola for her help. I hope to make good use of all i have learned and will begin the job hunt very soon!

Well, my project has been as difficult to get off the ground as my practice was! Finally I have partners that are willing to work with me on a Cross-sectional survey of attitudes about local food. All this preparatory work is a not of caution for those coming after me: check and double check the resources, both people and documents, that you with need to carry through with your work. Seems in the real world,we students are small potatoes, that are easily mashed! All is looking up now and I hope to shortly submit to the IRB.

Wow this summer has gone fast! i just submitted all my work, and tomorrow is my presentation. I really enjoyed the experience. It was very rewarding and I learned a lot about process and about the function, needs and barriers of and for food pantries in our Commonwealth. i hope my project next year can continue along this avenue, exploring means to make our food system more equitable as well as healthier!
jeanne

I have been continuing contacting food pantries, and formulated a brief survey about their function so as to assess the need for services that can improve their function. I have constructed a spreadsheet for the data– it is slow going as many food pantries do not have web pages. The link above is for Lovin”Spoonfuls, one of the food rescue organizations I have met with. I am thinking this could be a good source of produce for pantries going forward, especially since Massachusetts has passed a ban on organic matter in the waste stream effective in 2015; meaning institutions and grocers will not be able to toss their surplus in the trash. I am learning alot and meeting a lot of interesting folks!
Jeanne