UR Action has teamed up with Georgetown University in DC and Wilson College in Franklin County, PA this fall to implement a joint service learning course with students from Georgetown's Environmental Justice course and Wilson's Food, Culture, and Society class. Students are enhancing their abilities to analyze social, environmental, economic, and political contexts and applying those skills to better understand the interrelated dynamics that cause food insecurity and environmental injustice in DC and Franklin County, PA.

After conducting systems maps that highlight interrelated causes of food insecurity and environmental injustice, mixed Georgetown/Wilson student teams are using newly acquired project design skills to implement a food + environmental justice project in collaboration with local community organizations in both D.C. and Franklin County, PA. Students are implementing five projects that aim to reduce food waste and raise awareness about food injustice.

Franklin County, PA

• Population density: 168 people per square mile
• 89% white, 5% Hispanic, 4% black
• Median property value: $176,000
• President Trump won 71% of the vote in '16. ​

Washington, D.C.

• Population density: 11,535 people per square mile
• 48% black, 40% white
• Median property value: $563,000
• President Trump won 4% of the vote in '16. ​