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Food Science Service-Learning Project Ideas

Here are some tips for adding a service-learning component to a Food Sciences curriculum:

Meals on Wheels!
This is a great organization for students to get involved with! Instead of eating the food that they learn to prepare in Food Science courses, students can give it away through Meals on Wheels! In addition to food preparation, students can learn about different illnesses which require dietary restrictions, such as diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, etc. After they research these various dietary restrictions, they can prepare special meals for Meals on Wheels clientele that follow a special diet.

Homeless shelter or soup kitchen
A local homeless shelter or soup kitchen could always use a hand preparing meals. From cutting vegetables to making bread, and from setting the tables to serving the food, students can find many ways to get involved!

Food Banks
Food Banks are also community agencies that are often in need of assistance. There is always inventory to be taken, shelves to be stocked, boxes of canned goods to be unloaded off delivery trucks, and bags and boxes of food to be carried to the client's car on days the Food Bank is open for customers. Some Food Banks even run their own farm so that they can offer their clients and local soup kitchen fresh vegetables! Students can help plant and harvest the crop while they learn about the differences between organic and non-organic produce, and the dangers of pesticides.

Nutrition education
Nutrition education is another great way for High School and Middle School students to provide a service to the community. Whether they are educating senior citizens at the local community center or visiting elementary schools to spread the word about eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, students can bring the community up-to-date on the latest nutrition information. Students could create a nutrition newsletter that can distributed with food orders at the local food bank, or they could publish a recreation guide listing all the local recreation areas that are safe for hiking, power walking, roller-blading, jogging or swimming. By approaching local businesses for support, students could arrange to defray the cost of producing a newsletter or publishing a recreation guide, and the business community would learn more about the service-learning program at the school!

Grant Opportunities provide additional project ideas >>