Campus lecturer to discuss urban nutrition

You are what you eat. So, Mary Summers says, the food better be good, and readily available.

Summers, a senior fellow in the University of Pennsylvania's Fox Leadership Program and a lecturer in political science, will come to Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus on March 6 to discuss Penn's Urban Nutrition Initiative (UNI), which address poor nutrition and physical fitness in West Philadelphia. She will be accompanied by Jarrett Stein, a University of Pennsylvania graduate who is now the director of Student and Academic Engagement for UNI.

The event, co-sponsored by the Center for Social Concern and the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, looks to build on Johns Hopkins President Ronald J. Daniels' push for more community-oriented and service learning at JHU.

The talk will be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Arellano Theater in Homewood's Levering Hall.

"This event is a way of bringing some urban health expertise to campus and making the effort more public," says Duncan Robb, a community-based learning program assistant with the Center for Social Concern.

Summers will also talk about Penn's larger community urban health initiative that connects University of Pennsylvania students and youth in the city's public schools.

Penn's UNI engages, educates, and empowers youth, university students and community members to promote healthy lifestyles and build a just and sustainable food system. The initiative organizes school day, after-school, and summer learning opportunities for more than 10,000 students and their families at 20 public schools in Philadelphia. UNI's ecological approach to nutrition education includes hands-on experiences for students to grow, cook, consume, and sell healthy foods.