Agroecology, Climate Resilience, & Food Justice

As we head into the spring quarter, the ACRAF Lab is proud to reflect on the incredible work our faculty and student researchers have conducted over the past year. As a lab affiliated with the Environmental Justice & Common Good Initiative, we recently had the pleasure of co-hosting and presenting at the March 2026 Sustainability & Environmental Justice Symposium, where our team shared findings from three major projects. Presentations were followed by a Q&A session with school representatives and stakeholders.

Our lab’s Professor Chris Bacon, along with colleague Professor William Sundstrom, shared a decade of longitudinal research (2014–2024) on Agroecology and diversified farming in Central America. By analyzing data from over 200 farmers in Nicaragua, their work demonstrates that while smallholders are increasingly adopting diversified production to manage climate hazards and improve food security, long-term food system transformation requires deepening the link between local institutional support and Agroecological practices.

In terms of local impacts, Carmel Dill-Cruz and Will Jaspen presented their work on co-producing the South Bay Food Systems Data Dashboard in collaboration with Veggielution. By launching Version 2.0 of this GIS-integrated platform, the team successfully translated community data into actionable regional policy, helping East San Jose entrepreneurs secure value-based catering contracts and advocating for streamlined permitting for home-based food enterprises in Santa Clara County.

Finally, Amelia Koenig and Abby Wilwerding shared the results of the 6th Annual Integrated Student Basic Needs Survey, which involved nearly 900 Santa Clara University students. Survey responses and student interviews revealed that 37% of students experience food insecurity, particularly among first-generation and international students who face the highest rates. These findings highlight a critical need for more affordable meal options and culturally relevant food resources to ensure all community members have equal access to nutritious food.

Special thanks to the SCU Center for Sustainability, the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences, and the Environmental Justice & Common Good Initiative, whose co-sponsorship enables these meaningful dialogues to take place every year.

Our students have found fulfillment in conducting community-engaged research with partners to address local community needs. Being part of a team dedicated to environmental justice has provided them with a powerful foundation for futures committed to protecting both communities and the environment. If you are a current SCU student passionate about environmental issues and are interested in getting involved in our lab, look out for upcoming openings for research assistant positions!

Over the last few weeks, our ACRAF team has been tabling and gathering responses for our annual Student Basic Needs Survey! The responses inform the basic needs program on how to address food and housing insecurity across campus, including our graduate students. If you are an SCU student, please take 5 minutes to fill out the survey!

https://lnkd.in/gwtVtZYk

Are you interested in being a student researcher next year? The Agroecology, Climate Resilience, and Food Justice Lab is hiring! You can learn more about the job description and apply through this link. https://lnkd.in/ewFNXGSV

Applications are due Friday May 16th at midnight. Scan the QR code below or follow the link to apply!

Student researchers Wanyu (Mary) Xiang and Amelia Koenig of the Agroecology, Climate Resilience, and Food Justice (ACRAF) Lab presented their work at the Sustainability & Environmental Justice Student Research Symposium on March 11, 2025. Their research highlighted critical disparities in food and housing security among Santa Clara University students, drawing from the 2023 Food Security and Basic Needs Survey (800+ respondents). Key findings include:

• 28% of students experienced food insecurity, with disproportionately higher rates among marginalized groups:
  • African American/Black (30%), Latiné (28%), and first-generation students (44%).
  • First-generation students face twice the food insecurity rate of their peers and 1.5x higher housing insecurity.

These disparities underscore the urgent need for institutional action to create a more equitable, sustainable, and just campus—especially as marginalized communities bear the brunt of climate crises.

Progress & Challenges: The Basic Needs Committee
In response to ACRAF Lab’s earlier research, SCU established the Basic Needs Committee (2023–24), uniting students, staff, and faculty to develop an action plan. While progress has been made (e.g., hiring a Basic Needs Coordinator), the 2023 survey revealed critical gaps:

• Only 40% of students know about the Basic Needs Program (Bronco Food Pantry, etc.).
• Among food-insecure students, awareness drops to 38% (vs. 42% of food-secure peers).

To address this, the Committee has formed three working groups this year to advance targeted outreach, policy recommendations, and institutional support.

Innovation in Action: Food Recovery & Advocacy

• SCU Food Alert Slack Channel: Launched by ACRAF Lab member Mary Xiang, this platform centralizes food recovery and mutual aid efforts, mobilizing students, staff, and faculty. Join here!
• ASG Resolution S.R. 8 (2025): Co-authored by Xiang, this resolution pushes to:
  • Expand resources for students in need.
  • Destigmatize conversations about basic needs insecurity.
  • Increase awareness of existing support systems.

At the ACRAF Lab, we turn research into action. Our findings expose systemic gaps in basic needs security—but we don’t stop there. We push for institutional change (Basic Needs Committee), build grassroots solutions (Food Alert Slack), and amplify student voices (ASG Resolution).

Here’s how you can be part of the movement:

• Join the SCU Food Alert Slack to redistribute surplus food and support peers.
• Demand institutional action: Read and share S.R. 8 with faculty and administrators.
• Stay informed: Follow our work—because data without mobilization changes nothing.

Hunger is a policy choice. Together, we can rewrite the rules

Katie Duffy wins the Student Life Award, Jules Holland wins the Peter-Hans Kovlenbach, Social Justice Award and Kimber Wood wins Riordan Community Service Award. 

Photo Caption: Santa Clara University undergraduates Katie Duffy (first from bottom left), Kimber Wood (fourth from bottom left) and Jules Holland (third from bottom right) stand with President Julie Sullivan and others after receiving awards at the Senior Toast on Friday, May 31st. 

Katie Duffy, Jules Holland, and Kimber Wood are research assistants with a significant portion of their work focused on addressing student food security and basic needs at SCU. 

Katie and Jules serve on the Basic Needs Committee, advocating for initiatives to support students facing food insecurity and other essential needs. Kimber works in coordination with the tUrn Project and supports basic needs aid, promoting sustainability on campus.

Their dedication and outstanding achievements have not gone unnoticed. Jules Holland, a double major in Environmental Studies and Sciences, received the prestigious Peter-Hans Kolvenbach Award. Katie Duffy, a Political Science major with a minor in Sustainable Food Systems and Public Health, was honored with the Student Life Award. Kimber Wood, a double major in Political Science and Dance, received the Riordan Community Service Award.

These accolades are a testament to their academic excellence, leadership roles, and commitment to addressing food insecurity, promoting environmental justice, and fostering sustainable practices on campus. The recognition they have received highlights their significant impact as student leaders and changemakers, inspiring others to follow in their footsteps and contribute to a more just and humane world.

On February 9, an SCU research team presented preliminary research results to Sacred Heart Community Services food pantry staff, based on surveys and interviews that identified key themes for education materials and campaigns for pantry volunteers and clients. The feedback received during this workshop is being incorporated into a food justice curriculum and a replicable resource guide designed by the team, which other pantries and service organizations can consult to establish a food justice approach to food waste reduction. The SHCS Food Pantry serves 25,000 members each year. This workshop was co-organized by the Initiative’s Christopher Bacon and student researchers Isabelle Solórzano, Paulina Ursua Garcia, and Wanyu Xiang in coordination with Sacred Heart Essential Services Director Sofia Rocha. Paulina and Chris co-facilitated the workshop. See the presentation slides. Photo: Paulina Ursua Garcia.

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Isabelle Solórzano (‘24, Environmental Science, Biology minor) recently secured a competitive NASA DEVELOP internship, and will soon start working with NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View. She will join a project researching the impacts of wetland declinations and deforestation on urban heat in Cali, Colombia. They will leverage Earth observations from Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 and partnerships with Fundación Dinamizadores Ambientales and Departamento Administrativo de Gestión del Medio Ambiente to understand the urban heat island effect on Cali communities. Their analysis will combine remote sensing and community partnerships under an environmental justice framework. The team will also develop a tutorial on the methodologies to be transferred to the partners to increase their capacity to use NASA Earth observations and understand the heat disparity in local communities.

Isabelle’s interest in Latin America environmental change issues may have started with many trips back to visit family in Nicaragua and her work for the Environmental Justice and Common Good Initative’s Food and Climate Justice Program and in the Agroecology, Climate Resilience and Food Justice (ACRAF) Lab.  In the ACRAF Lab, she helped develop educational workshops, analyze the climate impacts of food consumption, co-author reports, and kick-start a vermiculture pilot program on a project partnering Sacred Heart Community Service. In addition to Professor Chris Bacon, mentors that have supported Isabelle’s work include Professor Jake Dialesandro, who taught her remote sensing, as well as Professor C.J. Gabbe, and Becca Nelson. Congratulations again, Isabelle. We look forward to seeing where this project takes you – the sky’s the limit.

SCU’s Environmental Justice and Common Good Initiative (EJ & CGI) Food and Climate Justice Program lead, Chris Bacon (Associate Professor and Chair Environmental Studies and Sciences Department) Collaborated Veggielution to develop a $217,000 project funded by the County of Santa Clara. Veggielution is the lead agency for this project that aims to create a more diverse, equitable, and resilient regional food economy, and foster food justice through education and action to address inequities in East San Jose.  As the key partner in this project, the SCU team will manage a $67,000 subaward, as Bacon will work with student researchers, EJ & CGI’s research coordinator, and Veggielution staff to conduct a feasibility study and policy analysis about the potential to link small-scale food entrepreneurs to values-based purchasing efforts, such as the Good Food Purchasing Program, which is partnering with Santa Clara County Hospitals to offer more nutritions, lower-carbon, and sustainable meals. The SCU team will also co-produce an agroecology, urban agriculture and food policy summer short-course and help design a food systems dashboard with collaboration from C.J. Gabbe (ESS). To collect the data student researchers will help conduct interviews, surveys, and focus groups as well as compile, analyze, and display demographic and food systems data.   Veggielution recently hired SCU food justice lab alumnus, Antonio Amore Rojas (ESS and Management ‘23),  to work as the cooperative manager for a new enterprise they will be developing as part of this project. 

Caption: Veggielution’s Farm Stand offers farm fresh vegetables that are harvested every week by staff members and volunteers. Residents interested in volunteering to pick crops can sign up online at veggielution.org/farming. Photo Courtesy of Veggielution

August 28 and 29, 2023

Sacred Heart Community Services, San Jose, CA

Sacred Heart’s Essential Services and La Mesa Verde (LMV) programs, are partnering with the Initiative’s Climate and Food Justice Program to advance food justice in the South Bay. The team recently led a workshop with La Mesa Verde gardeners, food pantry staff and volunteers to launch a composting pilot project. They invited Michele Young, a Master Composter with UC Extension and senior manager at the County of Santa Clara to offer technical training as part of six hours of workshop time that included, building the pilot facility, and hands-on worm composting. SHCS’ Food Pantry serves 25,000 members each year. As part of an ongoing study, SCU Researchers have found that, although the pantry recovers hundreds of thousands of pounds of edible food  it also disposes of about 2,700 lbs per month, (2-10% of the total food received). This project aims to transform the pantry’s food waste into compost while promoting the human right to food. This workshop was co-organized by the Initiative’s Christopher Bacon, Isabelle Solórzano (student researcher) and Fernando Fernandez Levia (SHCS manager). To learn more about free workshops on vermicomposting check UC Extensions Composting Education Program.

Feeding hope, serving dignity: How nonprofit groups fight food insecurity in Silicon Valley is one of the best news stories engaging the people, problems, paradoxes, and potential solutions to address the shockingly high levels of hunger, poverty, and social exclusion in Silicon Valley that I have read in my 13 years as a professor Santa Clara University. It’s in-depth and long form, so take your time reading it. Happy to provide background to journalist Prachi Singh.