Executive Summary
Problem Description
Nutrition is poor among college students in America including students at the
University of Oregon. Due to convenience and affordability students are choosing to
eat unhealthy which leads to poor nutrition causing health problems and
deteriorated student performance.
Opportunity
We propose a new way to promote students to a healthier lifestyle through
convenience and affordability. Through good nutrition comes benefits, such as
improved academic performance, increased energy levels, and less sick days. We see
an opportunity to bring healthy alternatives to all students on campus.
Solution
The University of Oregon farmers market will benefit students, staff, and community
in the following ways:
Convenience: The location of the Memorial Quad will be easily accessible and
there will be minimal traffic congestion. Having the farmers market will
eliminate the need for students and staff to travel to a grocery store, making
it easier for those that don’t have transport. Surrounding community
members who aren’t able to make it to other community farmers’ market will
have the opportunity to visit the campus market.
Health Benefits: Having the opportunity to easily access healthy produce
will attract students to have better diets. The market will be a type of
promotion to encourage and make it simple for students to eat better.
Local Farmers: Since the University of Oregon farmers’ market will attract
thousands of students to visit per day, the local farmers who have been
running the small farm businesses must make a higher profit than they used
to. The reason is that small local farmers have a competitive advantage to
offer affordable prices in comparison to big companies. As a result, local
farmer throughout the Eugene area will benefit.
UO Reputation: The University of Oregon strives to be an environmentally
friendly campus. Having a farmers’ market on campus preserve this image.
All produce will remain local, limiting the transportation and environmental
impact.
PROPOSAL TO IMPLEMENT A HEALTHIER CHOICE IN STUDENT
NUTRITION FOR UO STUDENT COMMUNITY
Presented by:
PayDay
To:
Ron Bramhall, Director, Associated Students of the University of Oregon
October 31, 2012
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PROBLEM STATEMENT
As part of the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO), the purpose
of your existence is to provide for a more social and diverse cultural, thus improving
the UO student education and physical developments. In addition, with the
confirmation of the recent “over-realized” fund that the ASUO possess, we propose a
new way to promote students to a healthier lifestyle on campus through diversifying
their choices in their daily nutrition intake.
SITUATION ANALYSIS
It is estimated today that there are more then 18 million students between the age
ranges of 18 and 24 that are currently enrolled in the U.S. higher educational
institutions. Of the 18 million, 39% of the college students in the U.S. are considerer
overweight or obese. It seems that College students today are young, educated, fun,
hip and fat. Generally, college is a huge transition for most young adults, leaping into
a new life filled with new challenges, opportunities and ample freedom.
This shift from living at home with the convince of healthy home cooked meals and
caring parents to living independently in college with microwavable meals are just
one aspect as to why the obesity rate is rising at an astonishing rate in young
Americans. Today’s college students don’t define the youthful, appealing, and
energetic attributes we are accustomed to, but rather today’s college students are
the poster-kids for American’s ever expanding waistline.
A student’s good nutrition should not end upon leaving for college. However, with
the convenience and affordability of fast food restaurants and microwavable meals,
most students are fall under the influence of unhealthy food choices. Students today
strive to be healthier, but lack the motivation to do so. With students not eating a
healthy balanced diet, students are giving up many benefits as well. Some of these
benefits include increased academic performance, reduced chance of getting sick
and increased energy levels. We have collected information on 98 students about
student nutrition. This information is outlined below:
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The average student rates themselves a 6.5 out of 10 on how healthy they
think they are (10 being extremely healthy)
42% of students spend less than $25 dollars a week on food
67% of students shop at the closest grocery store, regardless of price
56% of students walk to the grocery store because they have do not have a
form of transportation
88% of students said that convenience was a factor in their eating habits
78% of students said that cost was a factor in their eating habits
From this information, we have concluded that the convenience and cost of food is
the biggest problem for college students. Healthy student nutrition at the University
of Oregon is declining because there is a lack in convenient options for healthy food
choices, close to campus. There are currently four grocery stores within three miles
of campus. These include Market of Choice, Safeway, Albertsons, and Whole Foods.
These stores are neither convenient nor affordable for the majority of college
students here at the University of Oregon.
We have discussed two main ways in which we bring UO community a more
convenient and affordable options in preserving a healthy campus. There are pros
and cons to both options.
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Providing students with a way of transportation, such as a weekly bus route
to an affordable grocery store, would enable students to travel further away
towards the discount grocery stores. This would take cost, but not the
convenience. College students have little spare time and most do not want to
spend their time shopping for groceries. This may also cause a financial
strain on the ASUO.
Hiring a nutritionist to help students plan out future meals. This would bring
knowledge to students looking for advice on healthy eating habits. However,
we are unsure of how many students would actually take advantage of this
opportunity. Approximately 55% of students know about the current
nutritionist we have here on campus; however 0% of those students have
ever made an appointment with them.
Students need a convenient and affordable option to enhance their nutrition. With
our knowledge of student eating habits and your ability to organize events with the
community, we can positively impact this UO community through providing a
healthier choice in daily nutrition.
SOLUTION
There are many fast food restaurants and convenience stores, but a few
supermarkets nearby the University of Oregon campus. These unhealthy fast food
restaurants include Dairy Queen, McDonalds, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Wendy's and
Seven-Eleven. Many UO students would rather go to these fast food restaurants
instead of buying healthy foods from supermarkets and this is due to the fact of
locations convince. Additionally, since we know that the biggest influence on
students’ eating decisions is based on convenience, we propose to the ASUO to
support and fund an on-campus farmer’s market. The market will provide healthier
food choices with the addition of convenience. The market will stimulate the local
Eugene economy and also promote a healthier environment. At the same time UO
students and staff can immediately purchase healthy foods after classes which saves
them time, budget, and enhances the quality of living.
Stakeholder
The on-campus farmers market brings opportunities as well as advantages to the
stakeholders, includes fair vendors, the residents in the Eugene area, and the
merchandising from the restaurants around the campus. Local food farmers, faculty,
and most importantly UO students will benefit from the implementation of the
farmers market. For local farmers, they will encourage approximate thousands of
students to the market per day. For UO students, moreover, they can easily purchase
healthy foods at a favorable price in the market.
Location
The weekly farmer’s market will take place in the University of Oregon’s Memorial
Quad. We decided this would the best location because it offers the following
benefits.
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Easily accessible to students, staff, and community
Not a traffic hazard for students going to class
Accessible nearby street for easy loading and unloading
It has an outstanding stream of students, faculties and visitors walking by during the
busiest hours of 10am to 2pm. The quad has a big enough area to have a significant
sized market. The booths will be on the grass area facing the pedestrian sidewalks.
The sidewalks will become the medium where students, staff and community
memebers can get around to the different booths. Unlike the serious traffic during
the bi-annual street fair, the Memorial Quad will prevent traffic congestion while UO
students are going to classes or shopping in the market.
Time
The farmer’s market is going to be held once or twice a week, on Monday and/or
Wednesday. Having it once or twice a week will give students the opportunity to
conveniently buy a weeks worth of fresh produce where before most students who
did buy fresh produce bought two or three weeks worth. We are confident that the
farmer’s market will be very successful if the majority of students conveniently
come across it. With student traffic in front of the Oregon Memorial Quad being
prominent between the hours of 10am and 2pm, the farmers market will be most
effective during these hours. We will be calling Lane County’s cite manager Chris
Longest to see what days and times would work best with their schedule.
Regulation and Policy
The University of Oregon requires a contract for any non-school vendor to sale on
the campus. We are going to investigate if the Lane County Farmer’s Market will
have to sign with the Eugene Chamber of Commerce or with the University of
Oregon’s Purchasing and Contracting Services. If any contracts require funds, we
propose that the ASUO covers those costs. Since the Lane County’s Farmer’s Market
will not have to pay any fees, we propose to them that we will get premium prices
here on campus.
The University of Oregon will provide the quad for the location of the market. We
will need to call Chris Longest to see what type of equipment they will bring and
what they need provided as well as how much help they will need with setup and
takedown. We will have to hire UO Event Services to accommodate the market by
providing equipment and helping with physical labor. This will also be capital that
the ASUO will have to cover.
BENEFITS
Students
The farmers market on campus will provide a very convenient location for students
to buy produce. This weekly event will be available for students who possibly may
have had a hard time getting to a grocery store. It will also eliminate the travel time
of making a grocery trip. Students will be presented with the favorable prices that
local farmers offer. For those students that normally didn’t eat healthy, having a
convenient localized market will attract students to eat healthier as well as being
cost effective.
Staff and Community
University of Oregon students are not going to be the only beneficiaries from
implementation of this farmer’s market. The staff and community and the University
of Oregon’s identity of a healthier campus life will also benefit. The accessibility and
convenience of the market will provide staff and community more opportunities to
eat healthy. Buying locally manifests University of Oregon’s goal to be more ecofriendly: instead of students buying produce that possibly have been transported in
fossil consuming vehicles.
Successful story
A campus farmers market has had success in the University of South Carolina. The
university implemented the weekly farmers market in the beginning of June 2010 to
August 3rd, 2010. The farmers market at the university has earned an astonishing
achievement and has become the national universities reference to promote healthy
living on campus. According to the official University of South Carolina website,
“Beyond healthy living, the market has reinforced that buying local benefits the
community economically and environmentally. It’s good for people to have a closer
connection to local food sources” (Harring, 2010). Within two months, due to the
competitive price for local foods, thousands of students were encouraged and
attracted to the new on campus market. More Importantly, it accommodated healthy
foods as part of students’ daily dietary habits.