Northern Michigan University will offer a new faculty-led special topics course next semester that includes travel to the San Francisco Bay area to compare its urban food systems and partners with those in the rural Marquette area. Information sessions are scheduled at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, in Jacobetti room 200 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, in the Northern Center room 2214.
The four-credit course is an interdisciplinary collaboration between NMU's School of Health and Human Performance, the hospitality program and Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences, along with the University of California, Davis. “Food Systems Comparison's: Rural vs. Urban” is open to NMU students of at least sophomore credit standing.
NMU nutrition professor Lanae Joubert described a preliminary fact-finding trip she and hospitality professor Loganne Glendening took to the Bay area in a fall 2022 Northern Magazine story.
“We marched all over the place meeting individuals within several community food systems. In San Francisco, we experienced farmers' markets, urban farms, educational gardens, Japantown, Little Italy and Chinatown,” Joubert said. “We also sat down with many members of a non-profit agency in Oakland to discuss their work in supporting disadvantaged individuals who want to become more involved in the food system.”
The course meets the requirements for social responsibility in a diverse world or could also be an elective course for programs such as food service or in minors such as hospitality or nutrition.
The expected cost for NMU tuition for four credits plus additional course fees, which include airfare, lodging, transportation, meals and insurance, is an estimated $2,000-$2,500 per student. The selection process requires a completed questionnaire and a financial downpayment for the travel portion.