My name is Sarah Davenport. I am an undergraduate honors cultural anthropology student at the University of Central Florida (UCF), and a Ronald E. McNair Scholar. My research interests are at the intersection of urban and environmental anthropology as well as food studies. My experiences as a person of color and environmentalist, as well as my work in local food/environmental justice initiatives and politics, underpin my interest in the complexities of socio-environmental injustice and the need to address such inequities. I believe that it is imperative that I situate my research in U.S. urban areas given the complexities of American racial inequality and the lack of critical analysis of food (in)security as an environmental justice issue in urban communities. My ethnographic research from 2016-2018 has focused on racial and socioeconomic aspects of environmental injustices in Orlando, Florida. I critically examine the agenda and practices of Fleet Farming, a non-profit, urban-farming organization, focusing on data collection with local activists and relevant policy analysis. My work traces Fleet Farming’s first branch expansion from an upper-middle class, predominantly white neighborhood, to Parramore, a historically African-American, low-income neighborhood. Understanding the socially inequitable context of Parramore (i.e., residents’ experiences of racial and socio-economic marginalization) help crystalize my research question: How does Fleet Farming consider the racial and socioeconomic inequalities associated with food insecurity in marginalized communities? My research demonstrates that without an understanding of the deeply rooted social inequalities associated with food insecurity, such initiatives can serve to perpetuate inequities they purport to resolve. Following my study, Fleet Farming has been able to incorporate my research findings to reflect upon how their urban farming project in Parramore fuels gentrification and the City of Orlando’s development projects, and therefore reconsider their projects from a new and fresh perspective with greater attention to social justice issues. Based on this research, I wrote an article manuscript that is currently under review by the Journal of Culture, Agriculture, Food and Environment. I will be presenting my research findings at the Society for Applied Anthropology annual conference in Philadelphia, PA, in April 2018. Though this research did not require funding resources, I was able to continue my education while conducting this research with the support of the Johnson Scholarship Foundation, the Horatio Alger Scholarship, the Women’s P.E.O Scholarship, the UCF Integrative Learning Scholarship, and other education grants from UCF.

Following my study, I was invited to serve as a research intern with Fleet Farming, in order to better connect the organization and Parramore residents and community leaders. This engaged work facilitates Fleet Farming’s understanding of the deep mistrust Parramore residents have of such programs and works to provide a socio-environmental justice framework for their mission and practices.

Following my graduation in spring 2018, I will continue my scholarship in a PhD program in anthropology, and intend to expand research on food justice in low-income, minority, and urban communities. I hope my future research politicizes the ways researchers think about food acquisition in the urban U.S. and encourages anthropologists to critically examine issues of race and food at home. Additionally, as a woman of color in higher education and a lifelong McNair Scholar, I will always endeavor to serve as a resource and role model for underrepresented and underserved students and academics.