Introduction To Geographic Information Systems. Professor Paul Lowrey. BY: Amy Starble, Bradley Williams, & Albert Todd

Transcription

1 FOOD PANTRY PROJECT: FIGHTING FOOD INSECURITY IN ROGERS, ARKANSAS Introduction To Geographic Information Systems Professor Paul Lowrey BY: Amy Starble, Bradley Williams, & Albert Todd

2 By: Amy Starble SO HERE S WHAT HAPPENED Shortly after moving to NWA, I packed the kids in the car, put the last of the money that I had into my gas tank, and set out with a list that I had made of the food pantries that were open that day according to the stack of resource lists that I had compiled. The first one that we stopped at was no longer there. The next one hadn t had an operational food pantry in over two years, but were very kind and invited us to stay for the senior citizen lunch potluck if we were hungry. I politely declined, very embarrassed, and explained that we had eaten, but were looking for a little help to stretch the grocery budget for the month. Then, feeling a little discouraged, headed for the next food pantry on my list. Many people that my group members and I have talked to have experienced similar situations, including Albert s mom.

3 IT GOT US THINKING About how frustrating, time consuming, and expensive it can get just to get a little help when it is needed. About how much worse it would be if one did not have access to a car, or if there were medical issues that kept them from getting out to access help. About how awesome it would be to help Benton County agencies update their resource lists. And about how much more awesome it would be to find a way to help people battle food insecurity here in Benton County!

4 FOOD PANTRY OUTREACH So, as a group, here is what we decided to do. For now, our short-term goal is to help provide accurate information on local food resource lists and by providing a ARC GIS map that is also upto-date. For the purpose of this semesters EMPACTS project, we focused on Rogers, Arkansas. The long-term goal of Food Pantry Project is to help meet the needs of low income families in Benton County who struggle to keep food on the table in the post recession by evaluating and addressing Benton County s food insecurity issues by helping people access local food pantries and community gardens.

5 OVERVIEW First, we looked at all of the resource lists that we could find. We compared the information on the lists as well as any information that we could find on the internet. Then the phone calls began. We called all of the possible food pantries in Rogers to confirm their existence, as well as the information needed to access their help.

6 OVERVIEW Then, the footwork began. We set out to gather GPS coordinates and pictures of all of the Rogers food pantries. There were a couple that we were unable to confirm, so they may be added later.

7 OUR END GAME From the very start of the project, the idea was to make the information on food resources was more easily accessible to those individuals and families who need to know what pantries were still active, their days and hours of operation, and the eligibility and requirements. Having to worry about where your next meal is coming from is stressful enough, accessing help should not be. Several of us know from experience how bad it can feel to walk into a place expecting food, only to find out that it hasn t been used as a food pantry for quite some time. One local church food pantry thanked us for including them on an updated list, as they haven t had very many people stop by for help recently and one apartment complex is in the process of assessing their tenants needs and potentially adding a food pantry on-site for their residents.

8 WHAT WE LEARNED Bradley Williams learned how to use Google Earth and how to super impose a picture for use on an ArcMap Amy Starble and Albert Todd learned how to research deeper into the subject matter and how to lead and make presentations. The team pulled together and changed and adapted to the technology as situations came along. Problem solving and perseverance lead the way. We used GPS locations as shapefiles and Microsoft Excel to build our map layer. We imported, stored, managed, and organized geographical data, while gaining a better understanding of spatial data throughout the semester for use in our EMPACTS project.

9 THE DISTRIBUTION Each of us tried out technology that was fairly new to us: Bradley used Google Earth, utilizing the latitude and longitude functions to pinpoint the locations on the map. Albert provided the rest of the GPS locations and photographs for the presentation, allowing the families viewing this to better know what the buildings look like so they wouldn t get lost. Mean while, Amy researched map layers and local statistics through ARCGIS Online and ESRI and put together the map using ARCMaps.

10 MAP LAYERS AND SOURCES Esri maps from ArcGIS.com and ArcMap were an invaluable resource. It allowed Amy and Albert to provide us with the USA Median Household Income layer and the Assisted Housing layer in addition to the World Street Map base map to help analyze need in relation to food pantry locations. We also included a layer of Walmarts and Neighborhood Markets. A layer of all local full-service grocery stores that accept SNAP/EBT benefits will be added to the map in the near future, which should allow for an even better idea of where the more food insecure areas may be. While Google earth and the Snipping tool allowed Bradley to find and create a picture to superimpose over the map layer, detailing the locations of the food banks and pantries in order to help those in need.

11 TECHNOLOGY USED Aside from the use of PowerPoint technology, the two primary sources of technological information came from the Google Earth program and the Garmin GPS waypoints to track down the coordinates of the pantries in question. Along with a digital camera, Android phone, and flash drive technology.

12 WHAT COMES NEXT? More research! Eventually the hope is to research and map all of Benton County s food resources. Then, it will be time to approach local outreach agencies to provide them with current information to update their lists. Then, well, who knows!?! Fundraising and locations for food pantries, as well as ideas about delivery of food boxes are being talked and brainstormed about already with some of our community contacts!

13 LINKS: A GLANCE AT FOOD INSECURITY IN ARKANSAS as% pdf

14 OUR ONLINE RESOURCE MAP