SUSTAINABILITY SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOW SPOTLIGHT Kaela Jackson
The Power of Produce Club was founded in Oregon to improve family and child behavior regarding fruit and vegetable consumption and to promote visits to and purchase from the local Farmers Market. The program is an incentive-based educational outreach program that targets children 5 to 12-years old. In Lexington, the FoodChain non-profit organization has been running the PoP Club for the past three summers. The goal of the PoP Club is to increase social interactions between local farmers and potential customers by encouraging them to purchase and consume locally-grown fruits and vegetables and to educate children about where our food comes from and related sustainability issues. The Lexington Farmers Market adopted this program in 2017 and the program has been growing rapidly. Kaela's project objectives include evaluating the "impact of the PoP Club on knowledge about healthy eating and the benefits of buying from local producers, the likelihood children will try new fruits and vegetables, and self-reported consumption of fruits and vegetables."
Q: How did you first get interested in undergraduate research at UK?
A: "I was recruited to do research while I was president of UK's Campus Kitchen by my staff and faculty mentors, Kendra Oo and Tammy Stephenson. I was recruited to be apart of a study about increasing fruit and vegetable intake in older adults at a congregate meal site. I was interested because I was so invested in the organization and its mission. So, I gave it a try and haven't stopped since then."
Q: How long have you been engaged in undergraduate research?
A: "September 2019- present"
Q: Describe what a typical day of remote summer research activity looks like for you. How does this differ from your pre-COVID research activity?
A: "I use a week-by-week timeline to stay organized with deadlines and to control procrastination. I usually work a few hours a day at my apartment researching articles and information for my literature review and designing education for children and families that follow the Lexington Farmers Market. Since, my research cannot be conducted in person due to COVID-19, I post a lesson and corresponding activity to a FaceBook page connected to the Lexington Farmers Market FaceBook page once a week."
Q: What has been the most exciting aspect of your research so far?
A: "I get to be creative and design my own education for children ages 4-18 years old that would normally participate at our booth at the farmers market. It's exciting to me because I am not normally one to be creative, but since I want the material to appeal to children I really give it my all in hopes that they will at least learn one new thing and have fun while they learn."
Q: What advice would you give to other UK students thinking about doing research?
A: "Do it! Research may feel out of your comfort zone, but everyone does it in real life! Give yourself the chance to further develop your research skills while being mentored by an experienced individual that wants to help you. Opportunities like this don't always present themselves with a red bow, but you will get so much out of it if you decide to do so."
The UK Office of Undergraduate Research's Sustainability Summer Research Fellowship program provides undergraduates with the opportunity to study in a wide variety of disciplines while doing intensive and self-directed research with a sustainability focus under the supervision of a faculty mentor.
Co-sponsored by the UK Student Sustainability Council