By Amber Dyer, Coordinator, Communications & Marketing
Average reading time: 2 minutes
Urban agriculture has the potential to drive real community impact—but only if existing challenges can be overcome. That was the focus Wednesday, May 21, when community leaders gathered at East Texas A&M University for the Dallas Regional Chamber’s Community Connections event to showcase promising initiatives and develop collaborative strategies.
Closing the hunger gap takes more than food—it takes education
Food insecurity demands urgent attention because of its cascading effect, including poor health outcomes, reduced educational performance, and increased health care costs. Addressing food insecurity is both a moral imperative and an economic necessity, as food-secure communities are healthier, more stable, and better positioned to contribute to the region’s growth and prosperity.
However, solving food insecurity extends beyond increasing availability, shared Dr. Brooke Clemmons, Assistant Professor of Animal Science at East Texas A&M University. Solving persistent food insecurity requires matching the affected community’s needs with sustainable, healthy lifestyle choices.
To meet those needs, Clemmons is developing a new Urban Food Systems Graduate Certificate program at East Texas A&M University here in the Dallas Region to equip students with the skills and knowledge to support food-focused initiatives in underserved communities.
“In developing this [program],” said Clemmons, “one thing that we saw was that there were people who were filling a niche of providing foods and trying to find fresh produce and other sources to our communities like Bonton Farms and trying to understand how we can train some students to be involved in or start those organizations.”
The four-course program collaborates with local stakeholders and organizations to provide students with hands-on learning in food security policy, small-scale farming techniques, and urban agricultural design.
When transitioning into roles focused on urban food systems, students can drive community transformation by addressing food insecurity while enhancing their individual purpose.
“There is something amazing that happens when you are putting your hands in the dirt,” said Gabe Madison, then-President & CEO of Bonton Farms. “[Many] community members that we work with have been told, ‘you’re never going to be anything.’ [But] when you take a small seed and see it grow in three to four months into this amazing plant that people want to eat from, that does something mentally to you that says, ‘I did that. I created [something valuable that people want].’”
The prosperity and food insecurity paradox
“We probably have the best economy in the nation right now, and it continues to grow,” said DRC Senior Vice President of Opportunity and Impact Latosha Herron Bruff. “But food access remains a challenge in many of our communities.”
The Dallas Region’s booming economy adds approximately 320 new residents daily. Food access, however, remains a significant challenge, revealing a paradox between prosperity and food insecurity. Addressing food insecurity requires both targeted community efforts and effective urban leadership to ensure residents have access to essential resources for prosperity.
“We’ve got to have food security, we’ve got to have nutrition so that if nothing else, our kids can think,” said Dr. Bryan Rank, Dean of the College of Agriculture at East Texas A&M University. “If we can have [food security and education] work together, we can overcome everything that’s coming at us.”