Food and Climate

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Mary, class of 2025, double majored in Biology and Public Health Science with an emphasis in Health Science and minored in Sustainable Food Systems. In September 2023, Mary began her work as a research assistant in the Agroecology, Climate Resilience, & Food Justice Lab. She mainly contributed to the Student Food Security and Basic Needs project and the Learning Resilience (NSF) project by designing survey questions, conducting interviews and analyzing data using Excel and R. She also provided considerable support with workshop planning in the Sacred Heart Community Service project, and data collection and visualization in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities Laudato Si Project to advance bold proposals for environmental justice and sustainability across 28 institutions of higher learning. Mary was appointed to the position of Wellness Chair in the Community Development branch of the Associated Student Government. 

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Tatum, class of 2024, was an Environmental Science major and a Biology minor. She began working as a research assistant with the  Agroecology, Climate Resilience, & Food Justice Lab in the fall of 2023 on the Student Food Security and Basic Needs project and the Learning Resilience (NSF) project. Her research contributions focused on analyzing quantitative data using R Studio and Excel.  She also conducted interviews, wrote reports, and designed communications.  Tatum was selected as the 2023-'24 Environmental Ethics Fellow at the Markkula Center, studying the ethics of the Pajaro Valley levee failure, and she is passionate about advocating for environmental justice issues on campus and in the surrounding communities.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Paulina, class of 2024, joined the  Agroecology, Climate Resilience, & Food Justice Lab in Fall 2023 as an Environmental Studies and Ethnic Studies double major, with a Women and Gender Studies minor. She had a passion for environmental justice and community-based research and was excited to apply it to her work at the lab. She supported the team through her work on the Learning Resilience (NSF) project and the Sacred Heart Community Services and La Mesa Verde collaborative project. Her work included designing and conducting surveys in English and Spanish, designing and facilitating focus groups and workshops, analyzing qualitative data, and quantitative analysis using R and Excel. On campus, Paulina was involved in the Multicultural Center as the co-chair for the Undocumented Students and Allies Association and was a proud member of the LEAD Scholars community. 

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Annika, class of 2024, majored in Environmental Studies with minors in Sustainability, Sociology, and Sustainable Food Systems. Annika began working as a research assistant during Summer 2023 and has worked on the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities Laudato Si Project, which advanced bold proposals for environmental justice and sustainability across 28 institutions of higher learning. She helped to compile data on Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions and climate action goals from the AJCU institutions. Annika was excited to get more involved after researching the Laudato Si’ Action Plan here at SCU in her ENVS 111 class, Annika was also passionate about advancing sustainable initiatives on campus, which she got to dive deeper into during the Sustainable Living Undergraduate Research Project (SLURP) internship at SCU.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Katie, class of 2024, majored in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations and minored in Public Health Science and Sustainable Food Systems. Katie initially joined the  Agroecology, Climate Resilience, & Food Justice Lab in January 2023 as an Ignatian Center Fellow. She worked with the team on the Student Food Security and Basic Needs projects and the AJCU Laudato Si Project to advance bold proposals for environmental justice and sustainability across 28 institutions of higher learning. Through her work with the lab, Katie contributed by conducting surveys, analyzing survey data using Excel and R Studio, as well as writing reports and disseminating data. Outside of the lab, Katie served as a Senior Class Senator in Student Government, as well as a Miller Center Fellow, which supported her food security work in Zambia during the summer of 2023. 

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Isabelle, class of 2024, studied Environmental Science and Biology and joined the Agroecology, Climate Resilience, & Food Justice Lab in the summer of 2023. She began her work on the Sacred Heart Community Service project where she designed and implemented community-based training programs on food justice, food waste, and vermicomposting. Her research encompassed the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data, the development of educational workshops for the local community, and other related tasks. Through the lab, Isabelle gained the opportunity to work toward her career objectives of fostering a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. Additionally, she worked as a Sustainable Food Systems fellow at SCU’s Center for Sustainability. 

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Jules, class of 2024, started as a Research Assistant in September 2022. Her work includes helping design and conduct the survey on the project with Sacred Heart Community Service on Transforming Food Waste, rolling the student food security and sovereignty assessment on campus, and contributing to the data analysis of the NSF-funded project in Nicaragua. She is motivated to do this work from her experience volunteering at the local garden and teaching/living on a food-secure campus abroad in The Bahamas, Jules has a strong desire to expand her knowledge on food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture. She is very passionate about addressing food waste and believes that it is one of the most pressing climate change issues.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Xiomara was a Computer Science and Engineering major. She joined the lab during the Summer of 2022 due to her interest in learning more about the way research can change when more ethics and collaboration are introduced to it. Xiomara learned R-Studio for her own professional development and to help analyze some of the data analysis of the farmers’ survey responses as part of the Learning Resilience Project (NSF-funded project). As a fluent Spanish speaker, she also helped conduct key informant interviews and with translation as well as the design of dissemination materials.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Kimber joined the team in the summer of 2022. With a passion for social justice and equality, as well as experience in student government and the tUrn Climate Action and Awareness Project, Kimber’s work focused on concerns of food insecurity at Santa Clara University while integrating her knowledge of sustainable lifestyles and environmentally-conscious food systems. Kimber researched how Santa Clara University can best respond to the prevalence of food insecurity on campus and how to support students who are facing such health concerns.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Antonio was a Management and Environmental Studies double major. He got involved with the lab through Professor Bacon, taking his Environmental and Food Justice class while also interning at Veggielution through the Levi School of Business Community Fellowship during his Junior year. As part of his work on the Learning Resilience (NSF-funded project), he helped conduct key informant interviews in Spanish and English, helped with translations as well as designed dissemination materials for farmers and colleagues in Central America. Antonio worked with our lab group’s expanding research to assess alternative food systems with Veggielution.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Annalicia analyzed the food security discourse of smallholder coffee farmers, using Atlas.ti to code the ways smallholder coffee farmers characterize their livelihoods. She analyzed the ways newspapers are framing the livelihoods of smallholders and designed a qualitative analysis to understand how gender impacts farmers' experiences. She also helped clean and cross-check data quality from surveys on farm diversification in Nicaragua. Her work was supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS-1539795) and the Agropolis Foundation. In 2019, she was an immigration intern at the International Rescue Committee and was a leader in the Multicultural Center throughout her time at SCU.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Madeline graduated from SCU in Winter 2023 with an Environmental Studies major and a Sustainable Food Systems minor. Madeline began her work on the Student Food Security and Basic Needs project in September 2022 and started as a research assistant in the Agroecology, Climate Resilience, and Food Justice Lab in January 2023. Her research with ACRAF focuses on analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, academic writing, and conducting interviews. She was also the lead organizer for the Youth-Led Environmental Justice Summit, as part of the Environmental Justice and the Common Good Conference, on April 29th. Madeline also works as an apprentice at SCU’s half-acre organic urban farm, as well as a research and outreach assistant for SCU’s Center for Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She is passionate about building better food systems for a more just and sustainable world.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Paola joined Chris Bacon’s research team as a Research Assistant in Winter 2021. Due to her lived experience of food injustice in Latin America and in California’s Central Valley, Paola was passionate about sustainable food systems and social equity. She believed that threats to food security are one of the most pressing climate change risks. Her work consisted of editing research papers, collaborating on survey design and analysis, and using her Spanish fluency for writing and communicating with research members and participants in San Jose, CA, and Nicaragua. She was part of the team conducting a campus-wide participatory assessment of student food insecurity and food justice possibilities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic at Santa Clara University. Paola was also involved in sustainability work through tUrn: Climate Action and Awareness and SCU’s Associated Student Government. 

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Kylie graduated in 2022 with an Environmental Science Major and a Math Minor. Kylie worked on several projects, but her primary activity was the NSF-funded Learning Resilience project, in which she developed the geospatial analysis of the intensity and impacts of Hurricane Eta and Iota in Nicaragua and then co-authored an academic poster that she presented at the American Association of Geographers Annual meeting.  She used her R Studio data coding and analysis skills to help with the data analysis on several projects including the Far Fresh Food Relief and Student Food Security projects, as well as producing figures for the article that was published in Ecology and Society.  After graduation, Kylie applied for an internship with NASA’s DEVELOP program and was also interested in teaching English (and learning Spanish) in northern Spain.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Chloe joined Chris Bacon and his research team in the early summer of 2022. She quickly began assembling an inventory of national universities to analyze sustainability programs in both private (religiously affiliated and not) and public institutions. Using this inventory, she evaluated the success and feasibility of the programs to determine their efficacy moving forward to create an ideal standard for schools wishing to implement their own sustainability projects. Chloe also took on a communications role for the lab, helping to manage the lab's outreach platforms while also contributing to written pieces for the teams' projects when needed.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Gabi joined the research team focused on analyzing how farm diversification relates to food security, gender equity, and climate resilience in Nicaragua. She edits research papers and uses R to conduct quantitative analysis of survey data to unpack the relationship between gender and diversification methods of smallholder farmers. She is currently co-authoring an article about this work, which is supported by the Agropolis Foundation.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Brooke joined the team as a Community-Based Participatory Research Collaborative Racial Justice Fellow, using software to conduct a food justice-focused content analysis of the Farm Fresh Food Relief initiative. She contributed to the survey design for the Nicaragua diversification project and interview analysis for the SHCS/LMV project. Brooke completed her senior capstone class with Veggielution and wrote an article about the food hub model as a response to COVID-19. As webmaster, she built the ACRAF website and LinkedIn page. Brooke won the 2022 Lucky Hinkle Award for fostering sustainability across campus. After graduation, she served with JVC Northwest in Anchorage, Alaska designing food sovereignty programs.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Francesca started with the Research Team in May 2022 as a hybrid intern with SCU and La Mesa Verde (LMV). This summer, she explored a food justice approach to food emergency assistance programs. She worked in partnership with the Pantry, the worm bin composting program at LMV, and the Research Team, led by Professor Chris Bacon. Francesca worked to create a curriculum that educated the greater Santa Clara community on the importance of soil health in mitigating climate change and the physical and social benefits of developing community power within food systems. Ultimately, she hoped to help cultivate a movement of self-empowerment through self-sufficiency in our food.

Supervisor: Christopher Bacon

Project: Skyler joined the research team in Winter 2019. She analyzed the food security discourse of Nicaraguan smallholder coffee farmers using Atlas.ti and conducted a quantitative analysis of farm resilience survey data using R. In 2019, she became a Global Social Benefit Fellow (GSBF) at the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship to conduct action research for eight weeks in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. She co-authored an article with Bacon and other students analyzing farm diversification in Nicaragua.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Ben was a Research and Programs Student Assistant at the Center for Food, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. Through his experiences volunteering at local food banks and learning about food systems in classes, Ben had a strong desire to expand his knowledge of food production, food sovereignty, and sustainable agriculture. Ben believed that food security is an essential component of maintaining not only strong physical health but also strong mental and emotional health. He was a part of the team that conducted a campus-wide participatory assessment of student food insecurity and food justice possibilities under COVID-19 at Santa Clara University. As a recent graduate, Ben worked as a Strike Team Strategy intern for the World Wildlife Fund, helping the organization expand its conservation efforts. After the internship ended, Ben began working full-time with Environment California as a Global Warming Campaign Associate.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: graduated in December 2020 with an Integrative Biology major. She joined Bacon’s Food Justice research team in 2019 and worked alongside the Center for Sustainability and the Real Food Challenge to conduct an analysis and develop recommendations for improving SCU’s food purchasing practices. She co-authored an article drawing on the Real Food Challenge analysis and helped design a study of Bay Area food justice organizations’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Chloe co-designed and conducted a study assessing COVID-19 food insecurity and food justice-related experiences of Santa Clara University students.  She helped to develop the overall study protocol, program the survey into Qualtrics, and develop interview and focus group questions. The team recruited participants in the study and planned focus groups to elicit students' creative responses. Conducted in collaboration with the Bronco Food Pantry and the Multicultural Center, this study was also supported by CAS’s REAL Fellowship and the Center for Food Innovations and Entrepreneurship.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Julia was a Research and Programs Student Assistant at the Center for Food, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, and also worked as an Apprentice at The Forge Garden and Spade & Plow, another small-scale, organic farm in the area. Through these experiences, Julia saw both challenges and the potential power of small-scale, sustainable agriculture as a tool to address food accessibility and food waste. She was part of the team that conducted a campus-wide participatory assessment of student food insecurity and food justice possibilities under COVID-19 at Santa Clara University.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Emma worked alongside Paige Whittaker to conduct an analysis of and develop recommendations for improving SCU’s campus food procurement. This was the first analysis at SCU that included both the ethical/sustainability goals of the Real Food Challenge and an evaluation of carbon and nitrogen emissions from SCU’s food consumption. As Jean Donovan Fellow with the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, Emma served as an intern at La Mesa Verde, a non-profit organization at Sacred Heart Community Services dedicated to increasing food access and food justice in San José, CA through agroecology and urban gardening. Emma also co-authored an article with Bacon and Paige on campus food systems and helped with a study of small-holder coffee farm diversification in Nicaragua. More recently, Emma engaged in a collaborative effort between La Mesa Verde and the Food Pantry at Sacred Heart Community Services to increase aspects of food justice, food access, and waste reduction. Emma graduated in June 2021 with a B.S. in Bioengineering and continued to study Ecological Engineering and Sustainable Agriculture in a graduate program at Oregon State University. 

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Griffin joined Chris Bacon’s research team in Winter 2019. He developed a database and an analysis that tracked international development funding to Nicaragua. He produced a poster and traveled with Bacon and other students to present it at the American Association of Geographers annual meeting in Washington, DC.   His work on this study was also supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS-1539795). He won a Fulbright to conduct further research in Uganda, where he drew on his experience as an RA to work with smallholder coffee farmers in Nicaragua.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Erica joined the research team in Winter 2019. She was a first-generation college student who graduated in 2020. Her work analyzed the food security discourse of smallholder coffee farmers in Nicaragua. She used Atlas.ti to code the ways smallholder coffee farmers are characterizing their livelihoods and examined discrepancies between the way international news articles portray smallholder livelihoods. She traveled with Bacon and others to present a poster on this topic at the American Association of Geographers Annual Meetings in Washington DC. Erica conducted a gendered analysis of a smallholder farmer training program as part of her work co-authoring an article in preparation for peer review.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Ava was part of the team that conducted a study in collaboration with the La Mesa Verde program and Food Pantry at Sacred Heart Community Services. She conducted interviews and analyzed members’ responses. This project aimed to increase collaboration between La Mesa Verde and the Food Pantry while engaging broader scientific questions about developing a food and racial justice approach to emergency food assistance and decreasing food waste. As part of her work on this team, Ava also collaborated to develop a CalEPA Environmental Justice grant proposal with Sacred Heart Community Services. The proposed project utilized a food justice approach to increase community knowledge, build from existing strength, and foster resilience, while simultaneously increasing collaboration between parties and throughout the South Bay.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Oliveya joined the team as a Research Assistant in Spring 2021 and was supported by CAS’s REAL Fellowship for the Summer of 2021. She was working alongside Chris and the team to assess student food insecurity on campus. Using a community-based participatory action research model, she and the team hoped to assess the impact of COVID-19 and propose possible solutions to improve food justice on campus. As an Environmental Studies and Ethnic studies double major, Oliveya was passionate about environmental justice and was dedicated to furthering her understanding of how we can create food systems that center food justice and food sovereignty.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Derek Hsu was at Saratoga High School and joined Chris Bacon’s research team in Summer 2021. He was involved in student Leadership at Saratoga and served as Associated Student Body President. His passion was understanding the complex relationship between humans and the environment, joining Anna Eshoo’s Student Advisory Board to advocate for climate literacy. This work currently analyzed the diverse network of farms within Northern California and the effects of COVID-19 on food security.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Lauren researched relevant food and water security literature, designed survey questions to measure food and water security among rural smallholders, and crafted maps of the study region using GIS. Along with Claire and Kimy, she traveled to Nicaragua in the summer of 2016, where she collaborated with local stakeholders, conducted focus groups, and collected field measurements. Her work was supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS-1539795) Lauren was a finalist for the Rhodes scholarship and was awarded a Fulbright in 2018 to conduct food and water security research in Burkina Faso.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: He helped analyze farmer survey data as well as transcribed and translated focus group recordings and interviews from Nicaraguan community members collected by the research team. Perez is a first-generation college student and a LEAD scholar. Some of his work was supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS-1539795). He also helped Bacon and Stewart-Frey conduct community-based research on air pollution, and to record a Bannan Institute podcast on food justice and water security. He enrolled in a Master’s of Public Health program at UCLA.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Worked as a research assistant on the Nicaragua project for several years. He wrote an honors thesis and presented a poster entitled Framing Food Security in Nicaragua at the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting in New Orleans. He also learned how to use Atlas.ti and then used it to complete an honors thesis as he analyzed a sample from 500 newspaper articles on this topic. His work was also supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS-1539795). He pursued UC Berkley Law.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Nate was part of the senior capstone team that partnered with the City of Santa Clara’s Parks and Recreation Department and conducted a mixed-methods study entitled “Prioritizing Investments to Enhance Park Access and Environmental Justice Within the City of Santa Clara.” This team conducted policy analysis, produced interactive maps, and developed a memo, poster, and set of final recommendations that will allow the City to apply for statewide funding to expand and improve park access in underserved areas.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: As a senior, Olivia was part of the capstone team that partnered with the City of Santa Clara’s Parks and Recreation Department and conducted a mixed-methods study entitled “Prioritizing Investments to Enhance Park Access and Environmental Justice Within the City of Santa Clara.” This team conducted policy analysis, produced interactive maps, and developed a memo, poster, and set of final recommendations that allowed the City to apply for statewide funding to expand and improve park access in underserved areas.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Vanessa participated in an immersion trip to Nicaragua in December 2015 which sparked her interest in environmental justice. She conducted a quantitative analysis of survey data with R and researched farmers’ diversification strategies, food security, and coping mechanisms. Vanessa also mapped farmers’ diversification strategies with GIS and prepared maps for dissemination to farmers. She produced a poster and traveled with Bacon to present it at the American Association of Geographers annual meeting in Washington, DC, helped produce several events on campus, and co-designed our logo. She worked with Bacon and other students to write a peer-reviewed journal article. After graduating Vanessa served as an AmeriCorps Fellow with the City of Cupertino's Sustainability Division and was invited to participate in the NASA DEVELOP Fellowship (declined). As a member of the Silicon Valley Clean Energy team, Vanessa supported program development and outreach around clean energy and community resilience.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Claire worked for 1.5 years and several projects related to assessing household food and water security in Nicaragua. She helped edit survey questions and use GIS to produce maps. In addition, Chris mentored her field research in Nicaragua during the summers of 2016 and 2017, where she helped implement household livelihood surveys and conduct field measurements. Claire’s maps and other contributions are acknowledged in several publications. Since graduation, she has worked for several sustainable food enterprises and a coffee roasting cooperative. She pursued an MBA with a focus on food systems.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Kimy joined the team in Spring 2016. She designed surveys, translated documents, and transcribed focus groups. She also edited papers for publication. She was the original creator and translator of this Water & Food Security Blog. She also helped organize several events celebrating environmental and immigrant justice at SCU. During the summer of 2016, she traveled to Nicaragua where she gathered and recorded information from field measurements, focus groups, and meetings/workshops with our partner organization ASDENIC. Her work was also supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS-1539795). She worked as a Housing Initiative Coordinator in Mountain View.

Supervisors: Christopher Bacon

Project: Déjà helped work on the project assessing food and water security in northern Nicaragua. Her primary focus was to help develop strategies to disseminate results clearly in an accessible language to all participants in this project.  She designed the farmer handout summarizing recent findings from the 2014 household survey and over 500 copies of this handout were distributed to farmers during a follow-up household survey campaign. Her work was supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS-1539795). Déjà won the Udall Undergraduate Scholarship for environmental policy, and later a Switzer Fellowship for environmental leadership. She completed a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning and Food Studies Certificate, at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs.

Supervisor: Christopher Bacon

Project: Emma worked on two projects.  First, she used GIS, literature reviews, and field research to help conduct a case study assessing air pollution at a low-income elementary school.  Second, as a senior, she was part of the senior capstone team that partnered with the City of Santa Clara’s Parks and Recreation Department and conducted a mixed methods study entitled “Prioritizing Investments to Enhance Park Access and Environmental Justice Within the City of Santa Clara.” This team conducted policy analysis, produced interactive maps, and developed a memo, poster, and set of final recommendations that will allow the City to apply for statewide funding to expand and improve park access in underserved areas. 

Supervisors: Primary Mentor – Chris Bacon, Co-Mentor – Bill Sundstrom.

Project: Nicholas Chan conducted a quantitative analysis of survey data on farmers’ dietary diversity and diversification strategies. He created maps of farmers’ diversification strategies with Geographic Information Systems and supported disseminating the maps to the farmers. He also tracked international development funding to Nicaragua.