Food Science for All

STEM education is critical to providing the next generation of leaders and workers with the tools to understand and manage a changing world.  Though a concerted effort has been made in the last decade to increase the prevalence of STEM education in elementary and high school, much is still to be done to reach all students.  Currently in the US, only 20% of high school graduates are prepared for college-level STEM coursework.  Engaging with students from a young age in new ways to peak and keep their interest in STEM would help bring up this number.  A 2019 Emerson study showed that ⅔ of women in the US say they were not encouraged to pursue a career in STEM fields.  This is also indicated by the fact that women make up 50% of the workforce but only 27% of STEM workers.  Encouraging women to think about STEM through early STEM education can be key to increasing this number.  There is also a noted diversity gap in the STEM workforce.  Black workers make up 11% of the US workforce but only 9% of STEM workers.  Similarly, Lanitos make up 16% of workforce but only 7% of STEM workers.  40% of black students leave STEM majors before finishing a degree.  Clearly, more needs to be done to promote diversity in STEM from a young age.  Engaging with young learners from diverse backgrounds in STEM education can keep them on a track to succeed in STEM jobs and to increase the diversity of ideas and voices in the STEM community.  While an emphasis on including STEM in elementary education has been made in some areas, there is still more to be done to reach students and to grab their interest in STEM.  By reframing Science and Math in a context students experience every day, food, these topics can be explored in new ways.  Students can see the material differently when engaged in hands-on work with a media they know well and enjoy.  Food can serve as a common ground upon which any multitude of STEM subject matter can be taught.  Increasing the numbers of successful STEM graduates and workers means that not only do we have a greater number of STEM thinkers, entrepreneurs, and problem solvers, but that we also have a more informed public who can see the value and prevalence of STEM in their lives.

Food Science for All creates integrated Food Science, Math, and Science classes for elementary aged students.  The goal is to use Food as a conduit to encourage learning in other STEM areas.  By incorporating Food Science lessons into the curricula students are already learning in Science and Math, we can encourage a new understanding of the material.  Many Science and Math topics are difficult for students to grasp and many often wonder where they will use this information in their real lives.  Using Food to show that Science and Math are all around us every day in many ways, we can help enforce the ideas being presented in STEM classes.  For example, baking can be incorporated to enforce learning around fractions, division, mass transfer, chemistry, and nutrition among other subjects.  A topic as simple as ice cream can be used to teach about states of matter, phase changes, temperature measurement, and sensory perception.  The combinations of Food and STEM subjects are endless and can be combined in unique ways to reach the students in areas they most struggle or to encourage further learning about a variety of topics.  

The goal will be to offer complete Food Science classes that can be integrated into Science and Math curricula as well as to offer after school programs as schools as well as in community organizations that provide an outreach to underprivileged students.  Additionally, we aim to provide classes in community events to encourage an engagement in STEM outside the classroom to learners of all ages.  Food Science for All aims to reach as many students as possible from as diverse a field as possible by reaching students where they are.  To combat the current inequity in STEM professions, we need to reach diverse populations of students through easy to access curricula brought to them in their communities.  The goal will be to assist teachers in their work to teach STEM subjects by joining what they are already teaching with hands-on food experimentation and lessons that can add new context to the material.  Food Science for All will work directly with community partners to provide structured classes within afterschool and outreach programs. 

The goal of Food Science for All is to reach elementary age students from a diverse range of backgrounds.  Particular emphasis will be placed on reaching students of minority-background to help ease the lack of diversity within STEM fields.  Recent research by the National Science Foundation shows that 48% of black and 38% of hispanic 8th grade students show below basic comprehension of math, whereas only 16% of white students score in the below basic category.  Similarly, 63% of black, 52% of hispanic, and only 20% of white students show below basic comprehension of science.  To bridge this divide, we need to reach black and hispanic students in new ways. Food Science for All aims to bring STEM learning to students through afterschool and outreach programs already a part of the communities where these students live.   In this way, we will support these students without adding a burden to the teaching or supervisory staffs in these students lives.  Through afterschool and in class programs, we can form a community with these students to show them the many ways STEM understanding can enrich their lives via future job opportunities or better understanding of the world.  If underrepresented groups are not shown the variety of fields within STEM through direct interaction in their lives, they can’t see how their path might fit into one of these careers.  Furthermore, by reaching students early, we can support their education through high school and beyond by providing a rich foundation from which to build their STEM knowledge.  Answering the age old question “when will I ever use this in real life” has always been met with dissatisfying answers.  However, Food Science for All aims to give students hands-on experience that proves there are countless ways we use the information they are learning that extend far beyond the classroom. 

Currently this program is in its infancy.  This is a program I have dreamed about for the past decade and see an increasing need for as time goes on.  I am a Food Scientist by trade with 10 years experience working in the Food Industry.  Through the pandemic I have seen first hand the struggle to teach children math and science in interactions with my own kids via virtual learning.  I have participated through volunteer organizations outreach to students and families to teach nutrition and cooking that miss a critical element, bridging the material students are learning in class with the food they are working with hands on.  I am working to develop school and community connections in the Nashville area as a foundation for this program.  Critical to this are conversations with educators and outreach program leaders to better understand the needs of the students and communities they serve.

At this phase in the project, we are looking for advice and guidance on how best to begin our program and how to quickly and sustainable make an impact in our community.  We are looking for mentorship and connections to setup a successful program that has the ability to grow and change with time. 

While there are many approaches to enhancing STEM education, none currently offered use Food Science as a conduit for STEM learning enhancement.  Nutrition and food availability programs are starting to pop up around the country but none bridge the gap to bring food, nutrition, science and math together to enhance subjects students are already learning in school.  

• Begin offering afterschool programs in schools in Nashville by the end 2022.  
• Begin offering classes through outreach programs such as the YMCA and Youth Encouragement Service (YES) in Nashville by the end of 2022. 
• Integrate classes into existing STEM classroom learning by 2024.
• Provide cost-covered summer camp programs for low-income students focused on Food Science and summer STEM enrichment by 2025.