Feature ECLI graduate: Samantha Gullion

Food insecurity is when a person does not know where their next meal will be coming from, and it negatively affects the entirety of the United States. According to the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, Arkansas is tied with Mississippi as having the highest rate of food insecure households in the nation.

Therefore, the issue of food insecurity is a harsh reality for Arkansas residents.

Gullion’s project is entitled Conway GARDEN Initiative (Gardening and Reintroduction of Elementary Nutrition). The goal of the project is to provide education in nutrition and access to healthy, local food by creating a school garden and beginning an after-school nutrition program. This type of program will educate children on the importance of eating healthy and growing their own food. It is Gullion’s belief that if elementary level children are exposed to this information early, it will hopefully guide them to make healthy decisions later in life.

Since creating her community service project, Gullion has put into motion her first project in Faulkner County at Theodore Jones Elementary School.

If you would like to know more about Gullion, food insecurity or her specific project, check out her blog at http://foodmattersconway.blogspot.com/, or e-mail her directly at samantha.j.gullion@gmail.com.