The Palouse Fresh Food Project (PFFP), an AmeriCorps VISTA program, has been honored with the first annual Engaged Campus-Community Partnership Award by the Western Region Campus Compact. This award recognizes one outstanding campus-community partnership that produces measurable impact in the community through collaboration and student engagement. Established in 2015 by the Center for Civic Engagement and currently led by AmeriCorps VISTA member, Ashley Vaughan, the PFFP focuses on uniting campus and community efforts in Whitman County to alleviate poverty through increased fresh food production and access.
Over the past two years, the PFFP has collaborated with 16 community organizations to develop service learning opportunities for over 2,000 students. Through these opportunities, WSU students have made a positive impact in the community through a multitude of initiatives such as implementing food drives that focus on improving the quality of the food donated and working directly with community members to design and implement community gardens and edible landscapes. The PFFP has also been instrumental in the development of food recovery initiatives, the Whitman County Fresh Food Donation Guide, the Whitman County Seed Library, cooking demonstrations with Community Action Center, and multiple events during Poverty Awareness Week. Ryan Lazo, the original PFFP AmeriCorps VISTA and current WSU Center for Civic Engagement Community Partnerships Coordinator, is excited about the project’s expansion over the past two years. “One of the strengths of the PFFP has been the ability to partner with so many great organizations across the Palouse,” he explained. “These strong partnerships ensure programs are not only meeting community identified needs, but doing it in a sustainable way.”
The PFFP is funded by Washington Campus Compact and supported by the WSU Center for Civic Engagement. To learn more about this award-winning program, visit cce.wsu.edu/foodproject. Click here to read the Washington Campus Compact announcement.
