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Internship Plan

Monique McLeary

The African American Male Initiative

600 West Terrell Street, Greensboro, NC 27406

Preceptor: Rashard Jones

December 2, 2016

Signed by:

Student: Monique McLeary Date: 12/04/2016

Agency Preceptor: ____________________________________ Date: __________

Co-Preceptor: ________________________________________ Date: __________

Internship Coordinator: ________________________________ Date: __________

The African American Male Initiative Internship McLeary

Table of Contents

PART 1: PROBLEM DEFINITION AND DESCRIPTION...................................................................3

THE HEALTH PROBLEM............................................................................................................................................ 3

THE NON-HEALTH PROBLEM..................................................................................................................................4

RELEVANCY..................................................................................................................................................................5

SWOT ANALYSIS........................................................................................................................................................6

PART 2: PROBLEM ANALYSIS............................................................................................................. 8

CONCEPTUAL MAP OF CHILDHOOD FOOD INSECURITY.......................................................................................8

INTERNSHIP OBJECTIVES........................................................................................................................................12

PART 3: INTERNSHIP ACTIVITIES PLAN/METHODS................................................................13

PARENT/GUARDIAN INTERVIEWS........................................................................................................................14

NUTRITION EDUCATION WORKSHOPS.................................................................................................................15

COMMUNITY/HOME GARDENING WORKSHOPS.................................................................................................15

PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS AND GROCERY STORES.........................................................16

INTERNSHIP TIMELINE:..........................................................................................................................................16

REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................................. 18

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Part 1: Problem Definition and Description

The Health Problem

In 2014, approximately 18% of all North Carolinians and 19% of all Guilford County

residents were food insecure (“Map the Meal Gap,” 2014). Per Feeding America’s

adaptation of the USDA’s definition of food security, food insecurity refers to the “lack

of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members

and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods. Food insecure

children are those children living in households experiencing food insecurity.” (Coleman-

Jensen, Gregory, & Rabbitt, 2016; “Map the Meal Gap,” 2014). Roughly 23% of children

living in Guilford County are considered food insecure (“Map the Meal Gap,” 2014);

that’s approximately 1 in 5 Guilford County children.

A food desert is defined as “a place where more than a third of residents live more

than a mile from a grocery store and at least 20% live under the poverty line” (“Oasis

Grows in Greensboro Food Desert,” 2014). In 2013, the USDA found 24 census tracts in

Guilford County that were considered food deserts, and in 2015 the Greensboro-High

Point area was ranked number 5 among the top 25 metropolitan areas with the “highest

rates of food hardship for households with children” (Food Research and Action Center,

2016).

The mission of the African American Male Initiative (AAMI) program is to

“improve the emotional and social well-being of African-American and other boys at

Wiley, Jackson and Smith using mentoring as a powerful and personal tool to enhance

the lives of youth” (“About Us,” n.d.); addressing food insecurity falls within the scope

of this mission. Hunger and malnutrition has negative implications for children’s

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physical, intellectual and emotional development (Cook & Jeng, 2009). According to the

Hunger in Our Schools report (2015) published by the No Kid Hungry nonprofit

organization, “84% of principals say that students are coming to school hungry because

they don’t get enough to eat at home, and 6 in 10 (59%) educators say “a lot or most”

children in their school rely on school meals as their primary source of nutrition” (No Kid

Hungry, 2015). Additionally, research has found that children who are food insecure have

poorer outcomes in academic performance and social and emotional health than children

who are food secure (Fiese, Gundersen, Koester, & Washington, 2011). One study found

that the transition from food insecurity to food security was found to have positive social

and academic impacts on children (Fiese et al., 2011; Jyoti, Frongillo, & Jones, 2005).

These outcomes confirm the necessity from programming aimed at reducing food

insecurity and improving the nutritional health of the AAMI boys.

The Non-Health Problem

Limited access to resources and lack of social support are the non-health problems that

will be addressed by this internship project with the AAMI program. The intersectionality

of poverty, race, and food insecurity disproportionately impacts low income Black and

Latino communities in America. In 2007, roughly 40% of all Americans living below the

poverty line were also food insecure, with Black and Latino Americans making up 24.5%

and 21.5% of that population, respectively (Cook & Jeng, 2009). This is relevant to the

AAMI’s health issue of nutrition as the program serves majority Black and Latino boys

who attend Title 1 schools in Guilford County. These schools are typically located in low

income neighborhoods that are also classified as food deserts. Fostering social support

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networks and increasing access to resources in these communities may lower the impact

of childhood food insecurity on the boys in the AAMI program (Meisenheimer, 2016).

Relevancy

Currently, AAMI has a fully stocked food pantry and a community garden that is

available to families served by the program. However, there is a need for a more

sustainable solution to food insecurity in the community that will positively impact the

educational, emotional, and social well-being of the AAMI boys. To be sustainable, the

solution must work to improve access to grocery stores, increase utilization of

government assistance programs such as SNAP, encourage home gardening, provide

nutrition education, and support employment opportunities for AAMI families.

As the program involves working with minors, measures to maintain safety and

ethical integrity will be employed throughout every stage of the project. These measures

will work to ensure the safety of the students in the programs and the safety of all other

students in the schools. Some of these measures that will be taken to ensure the safety of

the AAMI boys and to maintain ethical integrity are 1) conducting needs assessments

involving parents/guardians to ensure that they are on board with the project and will

provide consent for their child to participate, 2) maintain confidentiality of all

information provided and 3) practice transparency throughout the internship process.

These measures – along with measures already in place by the AAMI program – will

work to support of the project’s ethical integrity and minimize any threats of ethical

concerns.

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Table 1. SWOT Analysis

Strengths

● Community Support● Financial support from local and

national organizations● Operational/programming support

(CIS of Greater Greensboro)

Weaknesses

● Adapting to transitions● Maximizing all available resources

Opportunities

● Community-wide support● Additional partnerships with

community organizations

Threats

● Limited space● Timing● Community participation

The AAMI program has the capacity to begin the process of addressing food

insecurity in the communities it serves. Some of the strengths of the program includes 1)

national backing by the Communities in Schools organization under which the program is

ran, 2) support and funding from local and national organizations such as the United Way

of Greater Greensboro and Syngenta Crop Protection and 3) community wide recognition

and appreciation. These strengths will be useful in bridging gaps in resources and support

that the program may otherwise face in tackling the issue of food insecurity. Further,

because of these strengths and others, the AAMI program has the opportunity to gain

additional support and backing from other organizations such as grocery stores,

community cooperatives, etc. to create sustainable change in the community.

As mentioned by Mr. Jones and Mr. Murphy (Site Coordinator at Jackson Middle

School), the organization also has some challenges, two of which are 1) difficulties

adapting as students transition out of the program to different cities and/or schools and 2)

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maximizing the utility of all available resources to support the program and its mission.

These challenges affect the program’s ability to maximize the services available to the

AAMI boys. However, these challenges are currently being addressed and will continue

to be addressed throughout the internship with AAMI.

Part 2: Problem Analysis

Food insecurity is an element of material hardship that is not adequately captured by

income and poverty alone (Ashiabi & ONeal, 2008). Although poverty has been linked to

food insecurity, it does not always predict food insecurity; not all families living in

poverty are food insecure (Ashiabi & ONeal, 2008). Beyond poverty, there are several

other behavioral, social, environmental, and political factors that contribute to childhood

food insecurity. According to a report on childhood food insecurity by Craig Gundersen

and James P. Ziliak (2014), some of these factors include mother’s health and substance

abuse, housing instability, family structure, school nutrition and scheduling (i.e. summers

and weekends), and racial disparities (Hadley, Tessema, & Muluneh, 2012).

Conceptual Map of Childhood Food Insecurity

The conceptual map below (Figure 1) illustrates the relationships between some of the

behavioral, social, environmental, and political contributing factors of childhood food

insecurity. This internship will focus primarily on the behavioral, social, and

environmental factors outlined in the conceptual map.

As mentioned in part 1, the AAMI program serves minority boys who attend Title

1 schools and live in low-income communities in Guilford County. Disparities in food

security are prevalent in these communities. In 2014, over two thirds of food insecure

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children were children of color and approximately 35% of households headed by single

mothers were food insecure (Ashiabi & ONeal, 2008; Meisenheimer, 2016). In the

immigrant community, childhood food insecurity is even more disparate as “children in

immigrant families have especially high rates of very low food security in comparison to

children in nonimmigrant families” (Meisenheimer, 2016). High prevalence of violence

and drug activity in these low-income communities may also impact food security.

According to a study of mothers of young children who were participating in public

assistance programs, exposure to violence negatively impacted mental health and

subsequently affected the mothers’ ability to afford food (Chilton, Rabinowich, & Woolf,

2014). In addition, these low-income communities in Guilford County are often located

in food deserts and are spatially disadvantaged in terms of access to fresh foods. School

nutrition guidelines and scheduling may also limit the nutritional health of boys in the

AAMI program (Hadley et al., 2012). Although free and reduced breakfast and lunch is

provided to the majority of students in these Title 1 schools, the foods served may lack

adequate substance and nutritional value (Freeman, 2007; Story, 2009). In addition, since

children consume a large portion of their daily food intake at school, the weekends and

holidays presents a real concern for the worsening of childhood food insecurity,

especially for minority children and children in low-income families (Hadley et al.,

2012). The relationships and interconnectedness of these contributing factors are outlined

in the following conceptual map below and discussed in the accompanying narrative.

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Figure 1 Conceptual Map of AAMI Childhood Food Insecurity

The target behaviors of this internship are food shopping choices and eating

habits. However, targeting these behaviors alone limits the scope, impact, and

sustainability of the internship project, and could potentially place blame for childhood

food insecurity on the individuals served by the AAMI program. Hence, in considering

the behavioral factors that affect childhood food insecurity, it is important acknowledge

the presence of social and environmental factors that limits individual choice. It is also

important to acknowledge the presence of “food oppression” in minority and low-income

communities (Freeman, 2007). “Food oppression” refers to the limitation of food choices

that is imposed on low-income minority communities by the fast-food industry and

encouraged by political systems (Freeman, 2007). Although food oppression will not be

fully addressed with this internship project, understanding this concept allows us to see

beyond individual choice as a sole predictor of food security; there are other elements at

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play that encourage spatial inequality and limits the food choices available to minority

individuals in low-income communities (Waity, 2016).

The primary environmental factor to be targeted by this internship is limited

access to resources; which is directly impacted by other environmental factors such as

geographic location and lack of transportation; and social factors such as family income

and lack of social support. Lack of/poor social support network is the primary social

factor that this internship with address. Improving social support networks and increasing

access to resources simultaneously may lower the impact of childhood food insecurity on

the boys in the AAMI program (Meisenheimer, 2016). Although family income and the

stigma associated with being low-income/seeking resources are key factors that

contribute to childhood food insecurity, they will not be addressed in this internship due

to limited time and resources.

Additionally, while the internship project aims to address some of the behavioral,

social, and environmental factors of childhood food insecurity, there are other factors that

will not be addressed due to limited time/resources and the complexity of the issue. Some

of these factors that are acknowledged but won’t be fully addressed include political

factors (i.e. public school nutrition, food policy, and federal nutrition program policies)

and other social factors like poverty, unemployment, and food oppression. Beyond this

internship, addressing these factors in conjunction with all other factors that contribute to

childhood food insecurity is necessary and vital to sustainably reduce the prevalence and

impact of childhood food insecurity in our communities.

One example of a program that aims to reduce childhood food insecurity in the

target community is the BackPack Beginnings program. Through a partnership with

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Communities in Schools of Greater Greensboro, the BackPack Beginnings program aims

to fill the “weekend food gap for children in need” by delivering weekly food filled

backpacks to children in 26 Guilford County schools (“CIS of Greater Greensboro,” n.d.,

“Food BackPack Program,” 2014). This program feeds up to 1,600 Guilford County

children each weekend (“Food BackPack Program,” 2014), however it cannot function

alone to reduce the impact of childhood food insecurity in these communities. Therefore,

the primary objectives of this internship (outlined below) are focused on promoting

sustainable solutions to childhood food insecurity in the AAMI community through

collaboration with other programs such as BackPack Beginnings.

Internship Objectives

1. Improve the nutritional health of boys served by the AAMI program.

2. Promote sustainable food practices such as home gardening and healthier grocery

shopping strategies.

3. Promote partnerships with community organizations to address childhood and

community-wide food insecurity.

4. Establish a strong support network for AAMI families.

Part 3: Internship Activities Plan/Methods

Some of the coping methods used by families at risk of food insecurity includes

“pawning possessions, ‘dumpster diving,’ eating food that is past its sell-by date, putting

off bills, and spending less on medications or heating and cooling” (Gundersen & Ziliak,

2014). Although these strategies may be effective at temporarily alleviating household

food insecurity, the lasting implications of food insecurity for children in these

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households may persist. More sustainable strategies have been identified to help reduce

the prevalence, impact, and burden of childhood food insecurity in low-income

communities. Some of these strategies include: increase access to and knowledge of

federal nutrition and emergency food assistance programs, nutrition education, and

community partnerships to increase access to foods (Meisenheimer, 2016; “Oasis Grows

in Greensboro Food Desert,” 2014). These strategies, along with others, are outlined in

the internship logic model found in Table 2.

A logic model is a visual tool used to outline and organized key elements of a

process or program (Knowlton & Phillips, 2009). More specifically, a program logic

model records the inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes of a specific program and

serves as a tool for designing, implementing, and evaluating that program (Knowlton &

Phillips, 2009). The process of designing and refining a program logic model requires

keen attention to all program components, including objectives and measurable

outcomes. This attention to detail encourages thoughtful and careful decision making

about what to do and how to do it. The logic model below highlights the functional

components and outcomes to be measured for the childhood food insecurity internship

project with the African American Male Initiative. Designing this program logic model

required keen attention to detail as well as an awareness of the resources available,

external factors that may affect the outcome, and the assumptions that were made in

developing the internship project.

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Table 2. Internship Logic ModelInputs:

Resources dedicated to or consumed

by the internship

ActivitiesMethods of fulfilling

the internship objectives using

inputs

Outputs:The measurable products of internship activities

Outcomes:Results anticipated as consequences of the outputs

Short Long

Funding

Intern

Program personnel

Partners

Space

Materials

Informal interviews with AAMI parents/guardians

Nutrition education workshops

Community/home gardening workshops

Partner with local organizations and grocery stores

10 AAMI parents/guardians attend

15 AAMI boys and their parents attend

10 AAMI parents/guardians attend

Establish partnerships with 2 local organizations and grocery stores

Increased parent/guardian knowledge of childhood nutrition and its impact on development

Increased parent/guardian knowledge of available food resources in the community

Increased community partnership and support

Better eating habits for AAMI boys

Improved cognitive, social and academic performance of AAMI boys

Increased utilization of community resources

Increase access to fresh foods

AssumptionsParents will participate

External FactorsPolicy, culture, school nutrition

Parent/Guardian Interviews

Interviews with AAMI parents/guardians will provide information about the prevalence

of childhood food insecurity within the program and an understanding of what the

community needs. Parents/guardians will be recruited by mail or email with a letter

explaining the project goals and activities. Data from these interviews will be used to

assess the prevalence of childhood food insecurity in the program and to plan the other

internship activities. Interviews will also set the stage for transparent communications

throughout the internship process.

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Nutrition Education Workshops

Nutrition education workshops will be targeted to both AAMI boys as well as AAMI

parents and guardians. These comprehensive workshops will feature content about the

importance of childhood nutrition, how to shop more strategically (couponing, reading

labels, etc.), how to prepare time and cost effective meals for children, how to utilize

federal nutrition and emergency food programs, and how to maximize use of all resources

available in the community. Participants will be recruited via mail, email, and/or word of

mouth. Workshop participation will be tracked using sign-in sheets provided at the

beginning each workshop. Surveys will be administered at the end of the workshops to

gain feedback on workshop delivery and effectiveness. The anticipated short-term

outcomes of these workshops are 1) increased knowledge of childhood nutrition and its

impact on development and 2) increased knowledge of available food resources in the

community.

Community/Home Gardening Workshops

Workshops on community and home gardening will promote self-sustainable practices

and encourage the use of AAMI’s current community garden. These workshops will be

designed to reflect the fact that some families may not have the space or resources to

garden at home. They will also promote the expansion of AAMI community gardens to

different sites that are accessible to larger portions of the community. Along with

providing gardening lessons and promoting the use of community gardens, these

workshops will help to build a stronger support network in the AAMI community.

Participants will be recruited via mail, email, and/or word of mouth. Workshop

participation will be tracked using sign-in sheets provided at the beginning each

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workshop. Surveys will be administered at the end of the workshops to gain feedback on

workshop delivery and effectiveness.

Partnerships with Local Organizations and Grocery Stores

Partnerships with local organizations and grocery stores is the final strategy that this

project will utilize to promote a sustainable shift in the community’s access to resources.

Organizations and grocery stores that are proximal to the communities served by the

AAMI program will be identified as potential partners for this internship project. These

partnerships may serve as additional resources for food and other needs, opportunities for

employment, and sources of funding to support the food security of AAMI boys.

Internship Timeline:

A Gantt chart is a tool used to illustrate the activities and schedule of a particular project

(“What is a Gantt Chart? Gantt Chart Information, history and Software,” 2016). The

Gantt chart below (Table 3) provides a tentative timeline for when each internship

activity will be completed. This chart will be used to ensure that the internship project

progresses as it should throughout the semester. The schedule outlined in this chart may

change based on the needs of the project and the organization.

Table 3. Gantt Chart of Internship Activities

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Activity Fall

2016

January

2017

February

2017

March

2017

April

2017

May

2017

Literature review x x

Internship planning meetings x x

On-going internship meetings x x x x x

Informal focus groups x x

Workshops planning x x x

Pilot workshops x x

Identify potential community

partners

x x

Communications with

community partners

x x x x x

Meetings with community

partners

x x x x

Internal project evaluation x x

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References

About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved October 26, 2016, from http://www.aamicis.org/wiley-site#!

__wiley-site/about-us

Ashiabi, G. S., & ONeal, K. K. (2008). A Framework for Understanding the Association

Between Food Insecurity and Childrens Developmental Outcomes. Child

Development Perspectives, 2(2), 71–77. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-

8606.2008.00049.x

Chilton, M. M., Rabinowich, J. R., & Woolf, N. H. (2014). Very low food security in the

USA is linked with exposure to violence. Public Health Nutrition, 17(1), 73–82.

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980013000281

CIS of Greater Greensboro. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2016, from

http://cisgg.org/siteco2.html

Coleman-Jensen, A., Gregory, C., & Rabbitt, M. (2016, September 7). USDA Economic

Research Service - Food Security in the U.S. Retrieved October 13, 2016, from

http://ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us.aspx

Cook, J., & Jeng, K. (2009). Child Food Insecurity: The Economic Impact on our Nation.

Feeding America. Retrieved from

https://www.nokidhungry.org/sites/default/files/child-economy-study.pdf

Fiese, B. H., Gundersen, C., Koester, B., & Washington, L. (2011). Household Food

Insecurity: Serious Concerns for Child Development. Social Policy Report.

Volume 25, Number 3. Society for Research in Child Development. Retrieved

from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED521696

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Food BackPack Program. (2014). Retrieved November 12, 2016, from

http://backpackbeginnings.org/food-backpacks/

Food Research and Action Center. (2016). Food Hardship in America: Households with

Children Especially Hard Hit. Retrieved from http://frac.org/pdf/food-hardship-

report-households-with-children-sep-2016.pdf

Freeman, A. (2007). Fast Food: Oppression through Poor Nutrition. California Law

Review, 95(6). https://doi.org/doi:10.15779/Z386997

Gundersen, C., & Ziliak, J. P. (2014). Childhood food insecurity in the US: Trends,

causes, and policy options. The Future of Children, 24(2), 1–19.

Hadley, C., Tessema, F., & Muluneh, A. T. (2012). Household food insecurity and

caregiver distress: Equal threats to child nutritional status? American Journal of

Human Biology, 24(2), 149–157. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.22200

Jyoti, D. F., Frongillo, E. A., & Jones, S. J. (2005). Food Insecurity Affects School

Children’s Academic Performance, Weight Gain, and Social Skills. The Journal

of Nutrition, 135(12), 2831–9.

Knowlton, L. W., & Phillips, C. C. (2009). The logic model guidebook: better strategies

for great results. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Map the Meal Gap. (2014). Retrieved October 13, 2016, from

http://map.feedingamerica.org/

Meisenheimer, M. (2016). Food Insecurity in Early Childhood. Center for the Study of

Social Policy.

No Kid Hungry. (2015). Hunger in Our Schools. Retrieved from

http://hungerinourschools.org/img/NKH-HungerInOurSchoolsReport-2015.pdf

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Oasis Grows in Greensboro Food Desert. (2014, December 22). Retrieved October 13,

2016, from https://bsc.poole.ncsu.edu/library/article/oasis-grows-in-greensboro-

food-desert?/news/oasis-grows-in-greensboro-food-desert

Story, M. (2009). The Third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study: Findings and

Policy Implications for Improving the Health of US Children. Journal of the

American Dietetic Association, 109(2, Supplement), S7–S13.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2008.11.005

Waity, J. F. (2016). Spatial Inequality in Access to Food Assistance in Indiana.

Sociological Inquiry, 86(1), 103–126. https://doi.org/10.1111/soin.12098

What is a Gantt Chart? Gantt Chart Information, history and Software. (2016). Retrieved

November 20, 2016, from http://www.gantt.com/

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