Tracing the Roots of Food Access: Local Communities to Schools (2026-2027)

Background

Food insecurity continues to be a significant public health challenge in the United States. Billions of federal dollars support nutrition assistance programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food assistance program and School Meal Programs, yet the impact of these programs depends on whether families access and utilize them. School Meal Programs in particular have the potential to improve child nutrition and strengthen local food systems, but they are often underutilized. Students may perceive school meals as low quality, and school food staff may have limited resources or training to address these perceptions.

Local food sourcing and scratch cooking can increase student participation in school meal programs while improving nutritional quality and supporting local agriculture. However, the workforce responsible for preparing school meals faces low wages, burnout and high turnover. Little is known about school food workers’ experiences, stressors and needs — yet their well-being is essential to improving school meal programs.

This project builds on three years of Bass Connections work and a USDA-funded national study on the school food workforce. It seeks to understand how working conditions influence local food procurement and how strategies for supporting school food workers can strengthen school meal programs in Durham.

Project Description

The project team will extend findings from a national USDA study and apply them locally within Durham Public Schools (DPS). Students will work across two coordinated workstreams, supported by ongoing guidance from a national Community Advisory Council and Working Group.

Workstream 1 — Secondary data analysis:
Students will join the existing IRB protocol to analyze survey and focus group data from approximately 1,300 school food workers and an estimated 75 focus group participants nationwide. This analysis will focus specifically on factors that influence local food sourcing, including working conditions, burnout, turnover and best practices for food preparation. Students will work closely with a graduate student already supporting the USDA project and with consulting support from an occupational epidemiologist.

Workstream 2 — Key informant interviews in Durham:
Students will partner with Durham Public Schools Child Nutrition Services and the Durham County Food Insecurity Office to explore workforce strategies that can enhance local sourcing and reduce turnover. Students will conduct interviews with DPS food service staff using community-engaged methods such as Photovoice, rank and sort activities or asset mapping. Findings will help translate national insights into actionable strategies for Durham schools.

Both workstreams will contribute to planning and participating in continued meetings with the Community Advisory Council and Working Group. Students will help draft agendas, attend meetings, take notes and refine project plans based on partner feedback.

The project builds on established partnerships, prior Bass Connections coursework and a well-tested structure for teaching community-engaged research methods including qualitative interviewing, mixed-methods analysis, food systems and climate health.

Anticipated Outputs

• Two manuscript drafts: Analysis of the role of school food staff in local food sourcing and Workforce solutions to reduce staff attrition and improve local procurement
• Report for Durham Public Schools and Duke partners on cross-sector solutions
• Outreach products (e.g., PhotoVoice, podcast, op-eds)
• Preliminary data for future research grants on workforce development and local sourcing

Student Opportunities

Ideally, this project team will include 2-4 graduate students and 8-10 undergraduate students. Students from diverse disciplines such as nutrition, public policy, sociology, economics, global health, education, medicine and environmental studies are encouraged to apply. The team values students with interest in food systems, social determinants of health, qualitative and mixed-methods research, health equity and community engagement. Spanish language fluency is an asset, given the linguistic diversity within Durham Public Schools.

Graduate students will lead workstreams, mentor undergraduates and support project management. Undergraduate students will take on research tasks such as designing interview tools, conducting interviews, analyzing survey and interview data, preparing dissemination materials and participating in community-engaged activities.

The team will meet twice weekly — once for instructor-led class sessions and once for workstream-specific meetings led by graduate and undergraduate leads. Field trips to local food system organizations such as Duke Campus Farm, DPS Hub Farm, school cafeterias and Root Causes will supplement classroom learning.

Throughout the year, students will develop skills in data collection, qualitative and mixed-methods analysis, research communication, health systems thinking, community-engaged research and scholarly writing.

Timing

Summer 2026 – Spring 2027

Summer 2026 (optional):

• Graduate RA prepares IRB documents
• Develop syllabus and meetings with key partners
• Recruit additional RAs and undergraduate interns

Fall 2026:

• Teach key background content
• Field trips to local farms, pantries and schools
• Students complete IRB and research training
• Hold Community Advisory Council and Working Group meeting
• Finalize research questions and project plan
• Finalize interview instruments, including Spanish translations

Spring 2027:

• Conduct secondary analyses and data visualization
• Conduct and analyze key informant interviews
• Hold Community Advisory Council and Working Group meetings
• Prepare Bass Connections fair poster and other dissemination materials

Crediting

Academic credit available for fall and spring semesters

See earlier related team, Tracing the Roots of Nutrition Access: University to the Triangle (2025-2026).