11A

1. Hey ENT friends! My name is Megan Wordell and I am a rising junior in the Innovation Academy majoring in Political Science and Journalism with minors in Innovation and Sociology. A few of my talents include trying to be funny on Twitter, political organizing, and most of all I can eat a whole jar of frosting in one sitting! My more comical skills and experiences probably won’t be very useful in this project but they help me make light of more serious issues, such as the one my project is based around. While I don’t know my specific aspirations, helping people in some aspect of their life is very important to me and I think my values of empathy and compassion will really come through in this. 

 I am offering a stable source of affordable, healthy, and most importantly accessible foods to customers in rural food deserts 

My ideal customer is someone, perhaps a family, living in a rural area, with a shortage of access to local health options. I am mainly focused on fulfilling these needs in food desert areas.

Customers will care because this is a cost effective way for them to achieve a healthier lifestyle.

I think a few of my core competences include my professional communication skills and strong leadership style. I have had the chance through group projects in the past to expand upon both of these and it has really shaped the way I collaborate. Additionally, a few of my core values include empathy and compassion, both of with are related to helping the needs of others 

I feel that all of these competencies, skills, ideas, and values, will all mesh well together with my project topic. My work in politics and passion for humans rights issues is also directly related to this assignment; I learned about food deserts in one of my sociology classes, and it was the main source of a lot of my research for this project. I will be able to combine my passions for these issues with the skills I have gained in other works to bring this project to fruition.

Elevator Pitch 1

9A: Fighting Health Disparities and Food Deserts

Who: This innovation would help people living in food deserts in rural counties. However, people that never leave their house would not be able to access the portable farmers markets as they would be at particular events. Additionally, since there are so many churches in several Florida rural counties, I would have the markets often form there. If people do not attend these services, they would not be able to access this particular one. 

What: This innovation would attack a lack of access to fresh, healthy, and convenient foods and food sources. Its purpose is to change this in order to fight rural health disparities. Other factors including health literacy also play a part in these disparities, which would not be impacted by this nonprofit

Why: differing underlying causes could be a lack of education, choice to live a rural lifestyle, live on a farm and have access to ingredients

Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary
Who is In: Rural residents who attend community events	Who is Not: urban poor, rural residents not active in community
What the Need Is: access to fresh ingredients in food deserts	What the Need Is Not: helping with affordability specifically
Why the Need Exists: lack of accessibility and grocery stores	Alternative Explanations: choice to live rural lifestyle

8A

Problem: Food Deserts. In 2009 2.3 million Americans lived over a mile form a supermarket and did not own a car, severely limiting their access to fresh, healthy foods. “Food deserts” have significant impacts on health and contribute to health disparities, specifically in rural communities 

Solution: a nonprofit type farmers market that brings food to main community buildings such as churches once a week after services 

Assignment 7

1. The issue I would like to focus my innovations on is increasing safety on campus and preventing campus sexual assault. This is a serious problem on UF’s campus as well as campuses around the country.

Who: students 

What: creating mechanisms to prevent campus sexual assault 

Why: to increase safety 

Testing the who: I believe that many other students feel the same way about this issue

Testing the what: I believe that creating mechanisms including the blue light emergency system on fraternity row would positively impact this

Testing the why:  I find that students would be positively impacted by the increase of safety measures 

Post Interviews: after talking with friends who are more involved in Student Government than I am, it is apparent that this has been an issue people have tried to combat in the last few semesters. There are no blue light emergency poles on fraternity row and many students are concerned about this 

Assignment 6

1. Rising costs of education 

Education is known to end poverty, but this comes at a cost. Sociologist Sarah Goldrick Rab writes about the rising cost of higher education and issues of education inflation that make it necessary to gain higher forms of schooling. I see this in my own life and in that of me peers.

2. The minimum wage:

Initially started during the New Deal Era, the minimum wage was instituted as a protection system for workers. However, as it is not adjusted for current rates of inflation, the minimum wage becomes less livable as time goes on. At the same time, businesses are used to paying workers a certain amount, and raising the wage too quickly or too drastically could cause negative economic effects. I have seen the opportunity as a minimum wage worker myself in the past

3. Evictions

Harvard Sociologist Matt Desmond estimates that 2.3 million people were involved in eviction cases in 2016. Additionally 1/4 families in the United States are considered rent burdened. Possible solutions are discussed in public policy debates nationwide. I have seen this need in some of my sociology classes and have discussed many solutions the last few months. 

4. Food Deserts 

In areas with a lower socioeconomic status there is a severe lack of availability when it comes to fresh fruits and vegetables. I have learned about this need through classes and this is an issue that severely impacts Alachua County Residents  

5A – Identifying Local Opportunities

“Duval, St. Johns counties issue water conservation notices” 

https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20190531/duval-st-johns-counties-issue-water-conservation-notices

Hot temperatures, even before the month of June, are causing an extremely high demand for water services in Duval and St. John’s Counties.This is a problem for both the residents of these counties and companies like JEA. The result is regulated days for sprinkler use in order to conserve water in the most efficient manner. 

“World Health Organization defines ‘burnout’ as an official diagnosis”

https://www.jacksonville.com/zz/lifestyle/20190528/world-health-organization-defines-burnout-as-official-diagnosis

Everyday Americans are impacted by a sense of “burnout” and it is been deemed an official diagnosis. Workers stuck in a loop experience mental distance and stress when doing the same tasks every day 

“On the Road: Biking a deadly pastime in Florida”

https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20190531/on-road-biking-deadly-pastime-in-florida

Issues of safety are severely impacting Floridians who frequently ride their bikes on main roads. Fatalities are most frequent in Florida. Possible safety changes could be creating better sidewalk access and greater space in bike lanes.

“Jacksonville Beach mailman spends days off cleaning veterans’ headstones”

https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20190526/jacksonville-beach-mailman-spends-days-off-cleaning-veterans-headstones

To solve issues concerning the cleanliness of headstones, a Florida man spent his memorial day trying to beautify a cemetery. Coming from a military family himself, he wanted to pay his respects on the holiday weekend.

“Record floods breach Arkansas levee, overtop 2 in Missouri”

https://www.jacksonville.com/ZZ/news/20190531/record-floods-breach-arkansas-levee-overtop-2-in-missouri

Due to issues with heavy rainfall, Arkansas residents are proposing solutions to the increased flooding.