We collaborate with community partners in the greater San Jose, CA area and Central America on research that empowers farmers to develop food justice responses to hunger and economic insecurity, and to build resilience to climate change and other hazards. We work with farmer cooperatives, universities, and nonprofits to design, diversify, and evaluate their agricultural and food security programs. We use agroecology and participatory approaches for improving health and environmental outcomes.
Contact: Chris Bacon
Projects
Transforming Emergency Food AssistanceThis joint project is advancing food justice in the South Bay by employing research-based agroecology techniques to reduce food waste, produce compost, and improve the sustainability of emergency food assistance programs.
SCU Participants: Chris Bacon, Christopher McNeil, and multiple student co-authors
Partners: La Mesa Verde at Sacred Heart Community Services, SCU Center for Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Funder: CalEPA
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A Food Justice Response to Covid-19 in CaliforniaFaculty, students, farms and food aid organizations in the Bay Area are collaborating to draw lessons from the pandemic about how to improve emergency food assistance and create a more just food system.
SCU Participants: Chris Bacon and multiple student co-authors
Partners: Fresh Approach, Pie Ranch
Funders: The Lawrence Foundation, Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education
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Food Justice on CampusFaculty, students, and staff are collaborating to address student food insecurity, and envision a more sustainable and just food system, at Santa Clara University.
SCU Participants: Chris Bacon and multiple student co-authors
Partners: SCU Office of Student Life Food Insecurity Program, SCU Center for Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship, SCU Multicultural Center, SCU Center for Sustainability, Real Food Challenge,Second Nature Sustainability Indicator Management & Analysis Platform
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Food and Water Security in Nicaraguan Farming CommunitiesAn interdisciplinary team of SCU faculty and students has engaged in a multi-year collaboration with Nicaraguan community organizations to improve food and water security for farming communities hit hard by climate-induced drought, and other environmental and economic challenges.
SCU Participants: Chris Bacon, William Sundstrom, Iris Stewart-Frey, Edwin Maurer, Maria Eugenia Flores Gomez, and multiple student co-authors
Partner: CII ASDENIC
Funders: National Science Foundation Geography and Spatial Sciences (Grant Number BCS 1539795), Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, Center for Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship
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Diversification Strategies among Smallholder Coffee FarmersThis long-term, multi-institutional partnership researched the benefits of diversifying and changing food systems and diets among smallholder coffee farmers in Nicaragua and Mexico for food security, gender equity, and climate resilience.
SCU Participants: Chris Bacon, Maria Eugenia Flores Gomez, and multiple student co-authors
Partners: V. Ernesto Méndez and Martha Caswell (University of Vermont), Rose Cohen (Community Agroecology Network), El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Universidad Nacional Agraria of Nicaragua (UNA), CESMACH, PRODECOOP
Funders: Agropolis Fondation, Fondazione Cariplo, and Fondation Daniel et Nina Carasso
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Learning Resilience while Responding to Environmental and Economic HazardsA transdisciplinary team is studying how households, small-scale farmers, and institutions are using agroecology and diversification to respond to global climatic, market and political changes. The analysis will identify strategic innovations that build food sovereignty, gender equity, and livelihood resilience.
SCU Participants: Chris Bacon, William Sundstrom, Maria Eugenia Flores Gomez, Raul Diaz, and multiple student co-authors
Partners: CII ASDENIC
Funder: National Science Foundation
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