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Coronavirus disease 2019 exacerbated health inequities in Bronx Communities. This study explored vaccine hesitancy among a random sample of faculty and students from Hebert Lehman College. Findings suggest faculty are largely vaccinated (87%), while 59% of students are unvaccinated. Significant gaps in information were found related to safety and complications. This suggests universities need to adopt an educational model with a multipronged social support strategy to gain students' trust and a greater sense of belonging.

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) suffer disproportionately from coronavirus-related illness, death, and financial loss. The aim of this retrospective, qualitative study was to better understand the experiences of BIPOC students at a Bronx-based public university during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data was collected from a reflective final exam in a health sciences course in May 2020. Responses (n = 28) were coded and analyzed using the Social Determinants of Health (SDH) framework. Several themes were identified in structural and intermediary determinant areas, including occupation, education, social cohesion, and psychosocial factors. Participants demonstrated optimism, resilience, and perseverance-protective factors against exposure to adverse SDH. Findings indicate that COVID-19 negatively impacted BIPOC students in multiple SDH areas which may have a compounding effect, hindering equity and justice. Providers of social and academic support are critical levers in addressing SDH barriers and helping students strengthen protective factors to reduce adverse impacts of health-damaging determinants.

Our aim was to develop and validate a survey measuring outcomes of community gardening related to food system equity. Face validity was assessed by six community gardening experts and resulted in minor changes to the survey. Weighted kappa and Cronbach’s alpha were used to determine test-retest reliability and internal consistency using a sample of community gardeners in New York City (n=38). Weighted kappa analyses revealed almost perfect agreement (mean = 0.981, range 0.498-1, p≤.001). Cronbach’s alpha was calculated for eight scales, most of which had excellent agreement. The resulting 25-item Just Community Gardening Survey consisted of demographic, garden participation, garden activities, social participation, social cohesion, collective efficacy, perceived impact on dietary intake, food access and security, horticultural and environmental knowledge and diet-related health questions. This validated survey not only measures the social and dietary outcomes of community gardening, it incorporates important aspects of food justice not assessed in previous research.

We compared 2014-15 New York State Science Assessment scores of fourth grade students who received the New York Sun Works (NYSW) Program (n = 638) with two comparison groups: students who received NYSW the following year (n = 993) and students attending matched schools (n = 1490). We first applied a multi-level regression model to compare scores between NYSW recipients and the first comparison group, which revealed non-significant but higher scores among NYSW recipients. We then compared the achievement scores of the NYSW recipients to both comparison groups using Welsch two sample t-tests. On average, NYSW recipients scored significantly higher than both the comparison groups (p < 0.001). Results suggest that further testing should explore the impact of climate change education on science achievement.

Coronavirus disease 2019 exacerbated health inequities in Bronx Communities. This study explored vaccine hesitancy among a random sample of faculty and students from Hebert Lehman College. Findings suggest faculty are largely vaccinated (87%), while 59% of students are unvaccinated. Significant gaps in information were found related to safety and complications. This suggests universities need to adopt an educational model with a multipronged social support strategy to gain students' trust and a greater sense of belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to identify demographic differences in U.S. adults' value of sustainably produced foods and explore how marketing influences self-reported purchasing behavior. A secondary data analysis of questions from the 2017 International Food Information Council's Food and Health Survey was conducted. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVAs, and Tukey's Multiple Means Test were used to identify and compare differences in demographic groups. On average, people of color, persons with less education, and low-income earners valued sustainable food more than their peers. While some participants reported purchasing foods or beverages advertising sustainability, marketing did not influence restaurant choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community gardens have been proposed as a way to build community capacity while simultaneously improving equity in food systems, core tenets of the food justice movement. Yet to date, there is no literature that connects the evidence-based outcomes of community gardening with specific social and dietary aspects of the movement. To explore this, we analysed 277 community gardening articles, which resulted in 31 quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods studies that met the inclusion criteria for this synthesis. An appraisal of the quality of each included study was conducted. Results of the synthesis indicate many positive impacts across seven outcomes: three related to the social benefits of gardening (social capital, neighbourhood participation, community sharing) and four related to the dietary benefits of gardening (fruit and vegetable intake, food quality, food security, access to produce). Findings were similar across studies, although methodological rigour in study design and lack of participant racial/ethnic and socioeconomic diversity were common issues. Studies found that community garden participation is positively correlated with aspects of community connectedness but evidence demonstrating that it improves diet is neutral. Given these results, that community gardening may be an effective strategy to create a more equitable and just food system remains unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compared 2014–15 New York State Science Assessment scores of fourth grade students who received the New York Sun Works (NYSW) Program (n = 638) with two comparison groups: students who received NYSW the following year (n = 993) and students attending matched schools (n = 1490). We first applied a multi-level regression model to compare scores between NYSW recipients and the first comparison group, which revealed non-significant but higher scores among NYSW recipients. We then compared the achievement scores of the NYSW recipients to both comparison groups using Welsch two sample t-tests. On average, NYSW recipients scored significantly higher than both the comparison groups (p < 0.001). Results suggest that further testing should explore the impact of climate change education on science achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our aim is to assess the nutritive value and acceptability (enjoyment, palatability, and desirability) of a cricket flour (CF) muffin compared to an all-purpose flour (AP) muffin. Participants (n = 198) completed a blind taste test and survey about demographics, muffin characteristics, and attitudes toward food products. Scores for enjoyment did not differ significantly but scores were significantly higher for the texture of the CF muffin. Rejection of crickets emerged as a primary reason for low desirability of CF muffins. These findings indicate that CF may be used to create an enjoyable muffin but one that may not be widely accepted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]