Recent Blog Posts

Strong community partnerships can significantly increase the impact of Extension programs, yet many new Extension professionals may have limited experience or knowledge of developing community partnerships. This webinar presented by Epsilon Sigma Phi (ESP) will offer strategies for developing, maintaining, and leveraging community partnerships to increase the impact of Extension programs. The presenters were: Jared Hawkins, Iota Chapter, Utah and team members: Lendel Narine, Lisa Schainker, Elizabeth Cohen. and Sheriden Hansen. Here is the webinar recording.

The Community Engaged Scholar Award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated co-created engaged scholarship that has positively impacted communities. Community Engaged Scholars have made significant contribution to Ohio State's culture of engagement, further establishing, and strengthening the institution's commitment to communities.

Timothy McDermott, Assistant Professor, Extension Educator at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences/Extension

Extension is an outreach arm of the university, engaging our community using research-based information to positively impact residents lives. Dr. McDermott impacts through agriculture and its opportunities. He delivers neighborhood and place-based outreach, free of charge, in economically disadvantaged communities of color, primarily to BIPOC, New American, immigrant and refugee client residents and their children through the development of impactful programs, committed partnerships, and new friendships.

He co-led The Buckeye ISA project, a 2022 Ohio State High Impact Program awardee where he taught families with children in the Linden, South Side, near East Side, Hilltop and Franklinton neighborhoods how to grow their own food for personal and family food security. Outputs of this project included 124 new family farmers trained, 85 classes with 2,500 attendees, and $1,533,889.31 dollars leveraged locally in government funding, materials donation, monetary donations, volunteerism time, and grants.

He engages students and teachers in schools through STEM-based Ag in the Classroom programs creating indoor and outdoor agricultural experiential learning laboratories for the purpose of workforce development. McDermott has engaged over 80 schools including Columbus City, Reynoldsburg, Whitehall, The Ohio School for the Deaf and charter schools Columbus Adventist Academy, Midnimo Linden Academy and KIPP. He leveraged $450,000 in funding from USDA NIFA, Scotts-Miracle Gro, and the OSU Office of Diversity and Inclusion to provide materials and knowledge support to mitigate participation barriers by teachers that has engaged over 50,000 Franklin County youth.

Earlier this month, USDA announced it would provide assistance to producers who have faced discrimination in its farm lending programs. Specifically, USDA intends to allocate $2.2 billion by the end of the year and will work with qualified 501(c)3 entities to help with this process.  Read the full USDA press release here.

While much information remains unknown,
this is a big opportunity for BIPOC farmers to access much-needed debt relief.

USDA is seeking to partner with community-based organizations in historically underserved communities that have relationships with underserved farmers and food producers to provide outreach to potential applicants. USDA is asking interested organizations to express interest in an email to AskUSDA@usda.gov by March 31.

For our part, Wallace Center submitted a request to USDA to be included in the process of distributing funds as equitably and efficiently as possible and advocate for these funds to go to BIPOC organizations and farmers. We'll share what we learn as more information becomes available.

If you're interested in learning more about partnering with USDA in these efforts, email AskUSDA@usda.gov by March 31 expressing your interest.

Sourced from The Wallace Center

Ohio State University Extension - Urban Extension Specialist / Associate or Full Professor

The Urban Extension Specialist in the Department of Extension is a senior-level faculty 12-month position with a 60% Extension appointment and 40% applied research and teaching. The position will be located on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University, will address the OSU RAISE theme of Race, Economic Opportunity, and Leadership and will foster a dynamic hub of innovation linking the priorities of urban communities with university assets. The position will advance the university’s efforts to coordinate and facilitate community-engaged research and relevant programming to address equity in the areas of food, health and wellness, environment, economic and workforce development, community leadership, and other concerns facing Ohio’s urban communities. Link to the full position description.