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Day 3: Farm Fresh Express — Setup

Lesson Overview
Time 50 minutes
Objectives Read and analyze the Wilson City community data sheet; identify the food desert problem; brainstorm a mobile farmers' market solution
TEKS d(1)(C)
Deliverable Wilson City data analysis (key data points circled) + brainstorm sheet (10 food offerings, market name, design ideas)
Materials Chromebooks, H&L Workbook Ch 9 (pp. 149-152), printed Wilson City community data sheet, brainstorm sheet, projector

Warm-Up (5 min)

WARM-UP: How far is the closest grocery store to your house? What if you didn't have a car or a bus to get there?

Take 3-4 responses. Bridge: 24 million Americans live in "food deserts", places where fresh, healthy food is hard to access. Today the class meets one of those communities and starts designing a solution.

Activity 1: What is a Food Desert? (5 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 9, p. 149, Background section

Read the workbook background aloud: "A food desert is an area where people have limited access to affordable, nutritious food, often because grocery stores are too far away and transportation is limited. Without fresh food options, people may rely on fast food or processed foods, leading to health problems like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. In the United States, at least 24 million people live in a food desert. They can be found in every state, most often in rural areas."

Connect to Health Science: this is public health: the part of healthcare that focuses on preventing disease at the community level rather than treating it one patient at a time. Public health professionals (epidemiologists, community health workers, nutritionists) work on food desert problems.

Activity 2: Read the Wilson City Community Data Sheet (15 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 9, pp. 150-151, Community Data Sheet

Distribute the printed Wilson City community data sheet. Read it aloud as a class, pausing to highlight the key facts students should circle:

Wilson City Overview:

  • Population: ~5,000 (small rural town)
  • 2 grocery stores, both on the EAST side, leaving the WEST side with limited fresh food
  • NO public transportation
  • Nearest larger town with multiple grocery stores: 35 miles away

Access to Grocery Stores:

  • 40% of households are 8+ miles from the nearest grocery store (mostly west side)
  • Both stores carry limited fresh produce, fresh items run out early, prices are higher than nearby towns

Transportation Access:

  • 100% of residents have NO access to public transportation
  • 24% of households have only ONE vehicle
  • 13% of households have NO vehicle at all

Shopping Behavior:

  • 68% of residents would be likely or very likely to shop at a mobile farmers' market
  • 72% say fresh fruits and vegetables are important, but 61% say they can't find variety

Demographics:

  • 22% under 18, 22% over 65
  • 28% of seniors live alone
  • 31% of residents receive nutrition assistance (SNAP or WIC)

Local Farms:

  • 14 active farms nearby
  • Available produce: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, strawberries, apples, watermelon, sweet corn, lettuce, kale, potatoes, onions, carrots
  • Other farm goods: eggs, goat cheese, honey
  • Local farmers willing to sell directly if setup is easy

Students circle 5 data points that they think are most critical to the food desert problem.

Facilitation Tip

The data sheet is dense. Don't read every word, highlight the constraints. The mobile market must serve the WEST side (40% of households 8+ miles away), serve seniors who live alone (28% of seniors), and accept SNAP/WIC payments (31% of residents).

Activity 3: Analyze the Data (10 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 9, p. 152, Step 2: Analyze Data

Students work in groups of 3-4 (these will be their team for Day 4). Each team writes a brief analysis answering the workbook prompts:

  • Which areas lack grocery stores? (Answer: West side of Wilson City)
  • Which areas are most affected by transportation issues? (Same, west side, plus the 13% with no vehicle anywhere)
  • How and where could you source produce? (Answer: 14 local farms willing to sell direct)
  • What dietary needs does the community have? (Answer: Many seniors, families with kids, SNAP/WIC users, fresh produce demand is unmet)

The analysis should be 3-4 sentences max. Teams write it together on a single sheet.

DOK 3: What patterns do you see in the Wilson City data? What is the BIGGEST barrier to fresh food in this community?

Activity 4: Brainstorm the Mobile Farmers' Market (12 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 9, p. 153, Step 3: Brainstorm

Each team brainstorms ideas for their mobile farmers' market on the brainstorm sheet. The workbook (p. 153) requires:

  • What will your market offer? At least 10 nutritious food offerings (use the local farm produce list)
  • How will you get people excited about your market? Marketing ideas
  • How can you make it affordable? SNAP/WIC acceptance, sliding scale pricing, free samples
  • How will you incorporate nutrition information? Recipe cards, signage, demos
  • What will it be called? A name + tagline
  • What will it look like? Vehicle type, color scheme

Teams write down their ideas. They will refine and present on Day 4.

Exit Ticket (3 min)

EXIT TICKET (Ranked Justification) · Printable PDF:

Rank these four Wilson City food-desert constraints from MOST critical (1) for a mobile market to solve to LEAST critical (4). Use the data sheet.

  • 40% of households are 8+ miles from a grocery store (mostly west side): rank ____
  • 13% of households have NO vehicle: rank ____
  • 31% of residents receive nutrition assistance (SNAP/WIC): rank ____
  • 28% of seniors live alone: rank ____

For EACH rank, write one specific data point from the Wilson City sheet that backs the rank.

  • Rank 1 (most critical): _____________

  • Rank 4 (least critical but still matters): _____________

Bottom line: Name your market. List ONE way the market design addresses YOUR #1 ranked constraint. (d(1)(C))

My market name: _____

Design choice for constraint #1: _____________

Differentiation

  • Support: Pre-circle the key data points on the Wilson City sheet for students who struggle with dense text. Provide a brainstorm template with each section labeled.
  • Extension: Research a real food desert in DFW (parts of South Dallas, Pleasant Grove) and compare the data to Wilson City. Where are they similar? Different?
  • ELL: Bilingual data sheet with key terms translated. Pre-teach: Food Desert = Desierto Alimentario, Grocery Store = Tienda de Comestibles, Transportation = Transporte, Produce = Productos Agrícolas. Visual icons next to each data category.