• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Search

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington IU Bloomington

Open Search Menu

The College of Arts & Sciences

Department of Anthropology

  • Home
  • About
    • Four Fields of Study
    • Core Faculty
    • Affiliate & Adjunct Faculty
    • Associate & Assistant Scientists
    • Research Associates
    • Emeriti Faculty
    • Staff
    • Graduate Students
    • History
    • Land Acknowledgement
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • About Bloomington
    • Alumni & Giving
  • Undergraduate
    • Anthropology B.A.
    • Anthropology + Linguistics B.A.
    • Minors
    • Certificates
    • Courses
    • Field Schools
    • Advising
    • Honors Program
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Student Experience
    • FAQs
  • Graduate
    • Anthropology Ph.D.
    • Food Studies M.A.
    • Interdisciplinary Curatorship M.A.
    • Minor, Anthropology
    • Minor, Anthropology of Food
    • Advising
    • Courses
    • Financial Support
    • Fellowships & Awards
    • Student Experience
    • Admissions FAQs
    • How to Apply
  • Research
    • Research Areas
    • Publications
    • Centers & Labs
  • Career Preparation
    • Career Paths
    • Career Advising
    • Professional Training
    • Professional Organizations
  • News & Events
    • Newsletter
    • Faculty News
    • Student News
    • Departmental News
    • Calendar of Events
    • Graduate Student Association Symposium
    • Bauman Distinguished Lecture Series
    • Skomp Distinguished Lecture Series
  • Search
  • Contact
  • Student Portal
  • Home
  • News & Events
  • Faculty News
  • IU Researchers Join 10 Million Dollar USDA Grant to Develop Resilient Food Systems

IU Researchers Join 10 Million Dollar USDA Grant to Develop Resilient Food Systems

Friday, March 17, 2023

Indiana University researchers join a transdisciplinary team in a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create more sustainable and equitable food systems in the Midwest and beyond. The five-year integrated project is funded through the Sustainable Agricultural Systems program of the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Food systems at the local and regional levels are susceptible to a number of disruptions, which researchers refer to as “shocks.” The COVID-19 pandemic, climate events and foodborne pathogens are examples of shocks that can cause disturbances in supply chains, ultimately leading to food and nutrition security challenges.

A single supply chain interruption can be difficult to overcome, but shocks often occur simultaneously and without warning. While previous research on this topic has focused on individual supply chain interferences in isolation, the overarching goal of the new effort is to build food systems that are able to withstand several shocks happening concurrently.

Jennifer Meta Robinson, professor of practice in IU Bloomington’s Department of Anthropology and the Emerging Area of Research-funded Sustainable Food Systems Science, is a co-principal investigator and will lead a team developing college learning modules based on the project’s findings. Robinson studies the human dimensions of small-scale alternative agriculture in the U.S. and is formerly president of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and director of IU’s award-winning Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Program. The IU research will fund graduate students and faculty reviewers. The IU team will also coordinate with K-12 learning specialists who are designing modules for public school audiences.

Dr. Shellye Suttles, an agricultural economist with a focus on food system sustainability, an assistant professor in IU’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and a member of IU’s Sustainable Food Systems Science, will serve on the project’s advisory board.

The full team of researchers, educators and extension experts is led by Brent Ross, associate professor in the MSU Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, and associate chairperson for undergraduate programs in the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

“The frequency of these complex events is only expected to increase over the coming years,” Ross said. “It’s essential to gain a greater understanding of these relationships to improve decision making that allows for disruptions to have as minimal of an impact on food and nutrition security as possible, especially for vulnerable U.S. populations.”

The team has outlined a series of objectives that aim to address the interrelated ways in which shocks affect food systems. Researchers will evaluate characteristics of supply chains that may put them at risk, historical and projected shocks, and mitigation strategies.

 

  • Faculty + Staff Intranet

Department of Anthropology social media channels

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • Department of Anthropology

The College of Arts & Sciences

Indiana University

Copyright © 2023 The Trustees of Indiana University

Accessibility | Privacy Notice

The College of Arts & Sciences

  • About
    • Four Fields of Study
      • Archaeology
      • Bioanthropology
      • Linguistic Anthropology
      • Social-Cultural Anthropology
    • Core Faculty
    • Affiliate & Adjunct Faculty
    • Associate & Assistant Scientists
    • Research Associates
    • Emeriti Faculty
    • Staff
    • Graduate Students
    • History
    • Land Acknowledgement
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • About Bloomington
      • Music + Entertainment
      • Campus Culture & Resources
      • Food & Restaurants
      • Sustainability
      • Sports & Fitness
      • Housing In Bloomington
    • Alumni & Giving
      • Newsletter
  • Undergraduate
    • Anthropology B.A.
    • Anthropology + Linguistics B.A.
    • Minors
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • Anthropology of Food
      • Medical Anthropology
    • Certificates
      • Global Human Diversity
      • Ethnography of Communication
    • Courses
    • Field Schools
      • IU Field Schools in Archaeology
      • Oaxaca, Mexico
      • Sorrento, Italy
      • IU Field Schools in Archaeology
    • Advising
      • Academic Advising
      • Career Coaching
      • Administrative Contacts
    • Honors Program
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Student Experience
    • FAQs
  • Graduate
    • Anthropology Ph.D.
      • Concentration, Archaeology + Social Context
      • Concentration, Food Studies
      • Concentration, Medical Anthropology
      • Concentration, Paleoanthropology
    • Food Studies M.A.
      • Food Studies Coursework
      • Food Studies Resources
      • Career Opportunities
    • Interdisciplinary Curatorship M.A.
    • Minor, Anthropology
    • Minor, Anthropology of Food
    • Advising
    • Courses
    • Financial Support
    • Fellowships & Awards
    • Student Experience
    • Admissions FAQs
    • How to Apply
      • Anthropology Ph.D.
      • Food Studies M.A.
  • Research
    • Research Areas
    • Publications
    • Centers & Labs
  • Career Preparation
    • Career Paths
    • Career Advising
    • Professional Training
    • Professional Organizations
  • News & Events
    • Newsletter
      • Process: Summer 2022
        • Letter from the Chair
        • New advisor Kristen Murphy
        • New editor Tony Webster
        • Class notes
        • Anya Peterson Royce retires
        • April Sievert retires
        • M. Nazif Mohib Shahrani retires
        • Susan Seizer retires
        • Faculty updates
        • Student updates
        • Tenure and promotion
        • Graduation and Awards Ceremony 2022
    • Faculty News
    • Student News
    • Departmental News
    • Calendar of Events
      • Graduate Student Professionalization Workshop
    • Graduate Student Association Symposium
    • Bauman Distinguished Lecture Series
    • Skomp Distinguished Lecture Series
  • Contact
  • Student Portal
    • Undergraduate
      • Anthropology B.A.
      • Anthropology + Linguistics B.A.
      • Minors
      • Certificates
      • Field Schools
      • Advising
      • Honors Program
      • Career Preparation
      • FAQs
      • Resources
    • Graduate
      • Ph.D.
        • Concentration, Archaeology + Social Context
        • Concentration, Food Studies
        • Concentration, Paleoanthropology
        • Concentration, Medical Anthropology
      • Ph.D. Procedures
      • Food Studies M.A.
        • Food Studies Course Descriptions
      • Minor, Anthropology
      • Minor, Anthropology of Food
      • Financial Support
        • External Funding
      • Getting Started at IU
      • Forms + Useful Links
        • Departmental Forms
        • IU + College Forms
    • Courses