Carolina Rascon received the
Undergraduate Student Award for Excellence in Community Engagement
recognizing her work with the Food Justice Lab since December 2020. Carolina has
contributed to research on grassroots efforts to advance an emergent movement
for the Right to Food in West Virginia.
Alongside community partners, she co-organized the Voices of Hunger WV to elevate individual stories of food insecurity across the state and bring those to bear on efforts by activists to codify the Right to Food in the West Virginia constitution.
"[They should] do everything in [their] power to ensure that West Virginians can access adequate food, have a voice in the future direction of their food system and create sustainable foodways for future generations." Carolina Rascon
She worked with the Miami Human Rights Law Clinic and Councilman Brian Butcher to develop a municipal resolution for the Right to Food that was adopted by the city of Morgantown in December. She has also worked with anti-hunger coalitions in Ohio, Kanawha and Calhoun counties to seed and support the development of similar initiatives at the local level across the state.
On accepting the award, Carolina challenged the those in power across the state to "do everything in [their] power to ensure that West Virginians can access adequate food, have a voice in the future direction of their food system and create sustainable foodways for future generations."
Carolina graduates this May with a degree in Women and Gender Studies. She leaves energy and momentum to her student peers in the Center for Resilient Communities working to advance food sovereignty and the right to food in West Virginia and beyond