UConn Husky Nutrition & Sport operates as a campus-community partnership striving towards:
right relationships
shared learning
equity-focused values and practices
relevant and representative engagement and education
the enhancement of individual and systemic level opportunities supporting healthy lifestyles
UConn HNS is a U.S. Department of Agriculture, AmeriCorps, small local foundation, and private donation funded effort to engage in nutrition and physical activity education alongside youth, adult caregivers of children, and adults eligible to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - Education (SNAP-Ed). Sustained and new collaborative partnerships and educational programs are facilitated within the City of Hartford and across the state of Connecticut.
UConn HNS is housed in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. Participating university stakeholders work across disciplines and communities as part of collaborative partnerships and direct education programs. UConn HNS provides structured opportunities for engagement via academic courses, paid-positions, professional and holistic development sessions, and research.
reciprocal campus-community partnerships built on respect and “right” relationships, where one treats individuals as equal authorities on their own lives. In doing so, we challenge inequitable individual behaviors and social structures.
Relevancy
programs and partnerships designed based on the specific needs and interests of participants, in alignment with SNAP-Ed guidance, to support nutrition and physical activity education and engagement across the lifespan.
Representation
talented partners, college students, and staff with diverse identities and experiences working in collaboration and towards enhanced equity-focused values and practices as engaged professionals and community members.
Foundational Frameworks
Campus Community Partnership
Too often is the case where campus-community partnerships are based upon a model that operates with university stakeholders as experts approaching communities as problems to fix (Boyer, 1990). Specific examples of inequitable collaboration have been observed in decision-making and short term programs driven by funding and its accompanying rules (Bringle & Hatcher, 2002). Instead, working groups with stakeholders of diverse identities and roles, can operate within a web of active relationships and partnerships with complex dynamics that require effective management and on-going analysis (Sandy & Holland, 2006; Dotterweich, 2006; Walsh, 2006).
UConn HNS looks to capitalize on the benefits of cultivating communities of practice as a vehicle for formal professional development on UConn’s campus and alongside partners in Hartford and across the state of Connecticut.
Communities of practice are everywhere; in our workplaces, schools, and within social settings (Clayton & Cuddapah, 2011). In some we are core members and have a voice in determining the direction of the community, while in others we are on the sidelines occupying the role of the observer, taking in information with less of an active role, but still feeling influenced by our participation in the community of practice. The primary focus of community of practice as a concept is on learning as social participation, looking at participation as engagement in events and certain activities (practice) with certain people (community), but also as the process of being active participants in practices of a social community and constructing identities in relation to these communities (Wenger, 1998).
Critical Service Learning informs collaborative partnerships and shared learning between community participants, partners, professional staff, and college students. Rather than engaging in service and engagement with a savior mentality, critical service learning focuses on authentic relationship building, a social change orientation, and working to redistribute power among diverse participants (Mitchell, 2008).
UConn HNS utilizes the MyPlate framework to guide direct education curriculums and engagements with community members. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) created MyPlate, an easy-to-follow food guide, to help parents to figure out how to feed their kids nutritious, balanced meals.
The colorful divided plate includes sections for vegetables, fruits, grains, and protein foods. MyPlate's user-friendly, interactive website provides simple messages, such as:
choose variety — the best meals have a balance of items from different food groups
fill half your child's plate with vegetables and fruits
make at least half the grains you serve whole grains, like oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, and brown rice
serve fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk and water rather than sugary drinks
don't serve oversized portions
Social Ecological Model
The social ecological model is a framework that examines how multiple levels of influence interact to shape individual and community behaviors. It consists of five interconnected layers: the individual, interpersonal relationships, community and organizational factors, societal norms, and government policies. This model helps understand how these factors contribute to health and well-being, making it a valuable tool in public health and social science research.
Sport Based Youth Development
Husky Sport employs the conceptual and practical components of the Sport Based Youth Development (SBYD) framework to inform stakeholder teaching and learning within a campus-community partnership. Working to provide a larger system of support for youth development and youth development practitioners, SBYD outlines an avenue for positive relationship building and collaborative network development amongst diverse community members (Sherry, Karg, & O’May, 2011; Smith & Westerbeck, 2007). With sport as an initial hook (Perkins & Noam, 2007) for shared participation in physical activity, Husky Sport programs and partnerships also engage curriculum focused on youth attainment of knowledge and application of healthy nutrition, transferable life skills, and academic enrichment.
More than 350 students from 21 partner schools were enrolled in the Neag School’s ECE courses in 2022-2023, an increase from 201 students in five districts the year before.
UConn Husky Nutrition & Sport, a merger of two SNAP-Ed programs, launches new website and sets high goals for its next phase of community and campus engagement
