Food and Land Security in Philadelphia
Food and Land Security in Philadelphia is a public community-based learning program sponsored by the Academy of Natural Sciences that includes both campus-based coursework and site-based participatory education with community agriculture partners in the Philadelphia area. Throughout the fall term, 10 Drexel students and 10 Philadelphia area neighbors will meet weekly at ANS and around the city to explore food justice projects both locally and globally.
The 2024 session runs Fridays 2–5 p.m., from September 27 to December 6. (There is no class on November 29.) Campus-based sessions will take place in the BEES Classroom at the Academy of Natural Sciences.
Along the way, we will work together to:
- Learn traditional farming techniques from community leaders and put these skills into practice
- Reflect on our place in the food system, asking where we belong in the fight for food and land security
- Engage in collective analysis of critical concepts, toward a shared understanding of the connection between food and freedom
- Share a meal prepared by our partner organizations, to experience first-hand the transformative potential of a community meal
Our course begins in the BEES (Biological, Earth, and Environmental Science) classroom at the Academy of Natural Sciences. This will be our home base, where we will get to know each other, where we come from, and what brings us together.
Every other week — rain or shine! — our work will radiate outward, engaging with expert practitioners of relationship-driven, community-based environmental justice projects. At the end of each of these sessions, students will be invited to participate in a culturally relevant community meal at no cost.
We will return to ANS bi-weekly throughout the fall to engage in discussion and reflection practice and to develop final projects that creatively express our own food stories. Students will be invited to exhibit these projects publicly at ANS after the conclusion of the term.
This side-by-side course is free and open to the public. Drexel students must register for either ENSS T380-001 (CRN 15053) or GST 300-001 (CRN 14682) to receive course credit. All participants will receive a Food Security Starter Kit upon successful completion of the course. Additional information about the course can be found here: https://sites.google.com/view/foodandlandphilly
Drexel students who plan to take this course for college credit should plan to attend all sessions, and must reserve three credits as part of their Fall term load. (If the Drexel sections are full, you should still complete the Application Form to register your interest in case anyone drops.)
All are welcome. If you have any accessibility concerns, email steve.dolph@drexel.edu.
The application deadline is Friday, August 30. Space is limited. Application does not guarantee a seat in the course. Accepted students will be notified by September 16, 2024.
Background on Food Insecurity
In Philadelphia, food insecurity — lacking reliable access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food — affects about one in six families. Rooted in structural inequity, land dispossession, and environmental racism, this condition has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic: studies indicate that among children the rate is closer to one in three.
Many programs address food and land insecurity at the individual or neighborhood level, but few use cultural preservation to frame their work. Fewer still place community land stewardship or environmental justice at the center of their practice.
In this course, we examine the root causes of food and land insecurity in our city and engage directly with community agriculture projects dedicated to fighting it. Along the way, we will make deep and durable connections with each other and with the land that sustains us.
Food and Land Security in Philadelphia Partners: