Team:FSU/Education

Education

Context

After meeting with numerous Tallahassee stakeholders and creating an open dialogue with those facing food insecurity in the community, the Human Practices team came together to formulate an educational component to our project. The Human Practices team noticed a few recurring themes and overarching accessibility issues that individuals in our community face when attempting to alleviate personal food insecurity. In creating an educational component, the HP team wanted to acknowledge the intersectionality between food insecurity, homelessness, and lack of medical resources and education. By understanding the interconnectedness of these issues, we can better meet the needs of an evolving Tallahassee population and increase equity for struggling communities.

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Cover of Educational Brochure


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Back of Educational Brochure


Mission

In creating an educational brochure, we provide individuals facing food insecurity with a user-friendly, transportable, and durable means of acquiring community resources to empower themselves and each other. Although our primary audience are people physically experiencing food insecurity, the brochure could be administered to community organizations, concerned family/friends, nonprofits, and small businesses in order to educate the general public.

"3.1 Million Floridians lack access to healthy food and 73% of food-assisted households had to choose between food and their home utilities." - Feeding Florida

Increasing Accessibility

Accessibility was one of our primary concerns when creating the “Food Insecurity Resources” brochure. Although many individuals who face food insecurity own “smart” phones and similar technology, we wanted to be inclusive of all communities; including those who may not have stable internet connections or whose technology is not consistently reliable. That’s why, along with a Linktree QR code which includes a plethora of helpful resources, we included a Tallahassee map on the front page of our brochure that highlights the largest/most established homeless shelters and food banks in the Tallahassee area. For those that do have reliable QR friendly technology, the Linktree provided includes a more extensive map, links to food assistance program offices in Florida, affordable healthy food options, and a guide to Tallahassee stores that accept EBT cards.

Empowering Our Community

One of the most helpful resources for individuals facing food insecurity nationwide are EBT cards and Fresh Access Bucks (FAB). We would be amiss to not include thorough step-by-step instructions on how the two resources intertwine, and why someone facing food insecurity can benefit from using them. Therefore, on the back of our brochure, we have included concise definitions of EBT and SNAP, the address to our local SNAP office, and a “How To Register” panel that explains how funds will be administered and a few locations where cards can be used in Tallahassee. Our hope is that individuals will utilize FAB to make healthy choices with their spending habits. Our nutrition panel outlines some helpful products that are low-cost and easy to consume as well as daily nutrition recommendations from reliable sources.


Our brochure will be administered to local stakeholders and food banks in the hopes that more of our Tallahassee community will be empowered by local resources. We also have plans to administer these brochures to Tallahassee bus stops where more individuals facing food insecurity will be able to reach them. By educating the public, we are investing in the future of our community and bringing the vital resources and connections directly to them.

References
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