Wichita State University Hunger Awareness Initiative

by Michelle Dreiling
The WSU Hunger Awareness Initiative began when a small group of WSU
students traveled to El Dorado, Kansas, during the final weekend of 2009 to pack food
for hungry school children in Haiti. Shortly after the devastating earthquake hit Haiti on
Jan. 12, 2010, that food became some of the first to feed Haitians affected by the
disaster. The WSU Hunger Awareness Initiative is led by Dr. Deborah Ballard-Reisch,
Kansas Health Foundation Distinguished Chair in Strategic Communication, Professor,
Elliott School of Communication (ESC).
WSU again responded during Super Bowl weekend 2010. More than 3,000
volunteers packaged close to 641,000 meals that were distributed in Haiti within a week.
After participation in the first Kansas Hunger Dialogue in 2011, we expanded our focus
to include an emphasis on campus hunger.
It quickly became clear that university communities are under-researched in this
area. Most hunger research, such as the USDA (2006) report on Food insecurity and
hunger in the U.S., relies heavily on census data, which does not capture university
communities well. The need to research the WSU community became apparent
immediately.
The mission of the WSU Hunger Awareness Initiative is twofold:
- to raise awareness of hunger
- to investigate the nature and scope of hunger at WSU
Since its inception, the theoretical foundation of the WSU Hunger Awareness
Initiative has been grounded in engaged scholarship, which Van de Ven & Johnson
define as a collaborative form of inquiry in which academics and practitioners
leverage their different perspectives and competence in co-producing knowledge about
complex problems (2006, p. 803). The research methodology framework was
community- based participatory research, in which research is grounded in the
community (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2008) and emphasizes inquiry that translates into
sustainable community-based action (Israel et al., 2005).
The intent of the WSU Hunger Awareness Initiative is to create a strategy for
achieving the mission statement using the theoretical framework and methodology
above; to do so within a limited budget; and in so doing to create a model program that
could be replicated by college communities across the nation and even internationally.
The program that emerged has been structured into a Four Pillar Model including:
Collaborators, Media, Events, and Academic Research.

Collaborators
Internal and external collaborators included the upper administration of WSU and
the Elliott School of Communication, Numana Inc, Sodexo, the Global Learning Center,
Multicultural Association, Student Government Association, and WSU Housing. These
collaborators provided crucial infrastructure, made the many WSU Hunger events
possible, and facilitated access to communication channels to raise awareness and
conduct research.
Media
Social media is a critical component of this initiative:
Facebook builds relationships and increases awareness through existing networks.
https://www.facebook.com/WSUHungerAwareness
Twitter provides instantaneous updates and increased awareness of events.
@WSUHunger #WSUHunger
The initiatives website provides depth of content and cohesion to the initiative.
wsuhunger.wordpress.com.
Traditional media exposure was also sought, with help from WSU University Relations.
Exposure included The Sunflower, coverage on KAKE TV (Channel 10) and KMUW
Radio (FM 89.1), and a Web article by KFDI (FM 101.3).
Events
Special events provide opportunities to build awareness, conduct research, and attract
media attention simultaneously.
Food Drives: Students in WSU Comm 111 sections competed against one
another and in two days in 2011 collected 571 lbs of food for the Kansas Food
Bank. In 2012, the entire WSU campus collected 4,118 pounds of food.
Numana Lunch: Students in the ESC were treated to 1 cup of Numana
food, which is what an adult in Haiti might eat in a day
Comm Week Presentations: During 2011 and 2012s Comm Week events,
Dr. Ballard-Reisch and students presented the initiative to interested ESC
students.
Dinner & Conversations: In these three events, the WSU community was
invited to share in a meal provided by Sodexo, and engage in group discussion
of their experiences with hunger.
Hunger Survey: A quantitative survey has been designed, piloted, and
released to the WSU community in an effort to quantify hunger and food
insecurity on campus. So far, the team has over 1,000 responses.
Academic Research

The research performed by the WSU Hunger Awareness Initiative not only
informs the WSU community about the nature and scope of hunger on campus, but also
provides students with opportunities to apply research and theory learned in class, as
well as for students and faculty to develop their professional portfolios. The research
performed through the 2011-2012 academic year has been presented locally, regionally,
nationally, and internationally.
The WSU Hunger Awareness Initiative team members plan to continue utilizing this
Four Pillar Model in our efforts to alleviate and raise awareness of hunger in our
community, and we also plan to continue sharing this model with other colleges and
universities, so that they can fight hunger in their communities as well. For more
information, visit wsuhunger.wordpress.com.