Assignment Prompt & Instructions
no plagiarism
– a year ago
**files (1)**
– ## JasonCarter-Essay1.docx
**## JasonCarter-Essay1.docx**
## Home Gardening: A Solution for Food Insecurity
### Jason Carter
### Northwood University
### ENG 1150: English Composition 1
### Professor Janice Child
### April 6, 2025
Jason,
I garden, and I enjoyed this essay. It’s interesting and well-organized, but I questioned if you were writing for me in Michigan or someone miles farther south. Lots of people garden here. But it isn’t quite as easy as you suggest. Lots of people do raised beds – starting with sticks and twigs, then compost, then nice dirt. Then they plant and hope that the bunnies don’t get there first. Some people garden in neighborhood gardens, which seems like such a fun way to have a garden. I watch a fair amount of British gardening shows, and they seem to give everyone in their towns and villages access to plots in the neighborhood gardens. Neighborhood gardens make access to some of the tools that seem so helpful – like rototillers – accessible and free.
But here there is quite a delay with a vegetable garden from seed. I’m usually thrilled by a tomato or two. I’ve never had the patience or luck to get a vegetable garden growing starting from seed. I tend to lose interest when I realize it will be a month or more before I’ll see a broccoli with my name on it. If I’m going to grow tomatoes, I start with a plant anymore.
I’m going to be asking you to revise this essay for essay two. And by revise, I mean to see the topic with fresh eyes. Not just minor editing. I want a new essay on the same topic.
You can either write from the opposite point of view – which is a great thing to do when you are trying to persuade someone about something political. As you consider the opposition’s point of view, you get a sense of where there might be consensus and where you might find areas that would be easy to argue against – if you were ever to improve your first persuasive paper.
You could also take your broad topic and explore in greater detail some subtopic that interests you.
For example, …
you could focus on gardens for college students. I live close to Michigan State University, which began as Michigan Agricultural College in 1855. The central campus is surrounded by research labs, barns and fields that support its various agricultural programs.
When I came to East Lansing for grad school, my then-boyfriend told me I was going to a cow college. I was offended, but it was a clue that he was a moron.
It would be easy for MSU to find land and offer space and instruction for students in developing a garden. Why don’t they do that? I don’t know. Maybe they do.
There would be lots of benefits – the obvious one would be less food insecurity, but there would also be greater understanding of the agricultural community that makes up a big part of this state – which would be helpful for the students who are not enrolled in education related programs. Cars may be our first product, tourism may be second, but agricultural products would be right up there.
There would also be community outreach. There might be opportunities for the agricultural companies – seed producers, local (or university) farms involved in animal sciences to provide manure. This would be a public relations jackpot – tours, garden markets offering vegetables and products made from the crops, workshops to teach others to garden effectively.
(In fact, the PR benefits could be the paper. So could addressing ways to get involvement from third parties or students.)
Consider writing a persuasive essay aimed at the general audience, but also targeting institutions of higher education and the legislature suggesting that they act on the problem of food insecurity on campuses (and in the communities that surround them) to produce food that can be consumed by the grower and made available to the local community in need of help.
Now you pick a subtopic for essay 2:
You don’t have to use my topic, but don’t lose sight of the idea of making this a persuasive piece.
· What do you want to happen? (your thesis)
· What are the features and benefits if the plan is implemented
· What should your audience do to make this a reality (the call to action).
Home Gardening: A Solution for Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is a significant global health issue that has negatively impacted people for many decades. The lack of availability of access to food on a continuous basis should not be an issue that people face in this modern society. A challenging economy, increasing food prices, and lower wages are just some of the variables that contribute to food insecurity. Now is the time for people to focus more on factors
~~in which~~ (I’m going to offer ideas when it seems like your sentence would provide the same content without some unneeded words. Keep thinking about being concise.) they can control. and aA resolution to food insecurity is for people to engage in sustainable living by growing their own food.
Food insecurity is formally defined as reduced access to nutritious food that is needed to sustain a healthy lifestyle (Loofbourrow and Scherr, 2023). In past times, this was a problem that mostly only third world countries suffered from, but increasingly difficult economic times have seen more and more people in modern societies suffering from food insecurity. Food insecurity has been found to increase the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus which is a leading cause of death (Levi, Bleich, and Seligman, 2023). Food insecurity also affects the college landscape and leads to poorer academic performance and increasingly poorer health outcomes. Financial constraints are the largest factor contributing to these even with an increased number of food nutrition programs. (And it might be that some of the government funded food programs will be disappearing. Have you read about any that have been stopped. This is the only site I found that focused on U.S. food-related programs — https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-cuts-hit-struggling-food-banks-risking-hunger-low-income-americans-2025-03-25/.)
The most popular food nutrition program is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and is itit is available throughout our nation. Benefit recipients can use SNAP benefits to purchase seeds to grow food in their own backyards or common areas. Instead of depending on high food costs from grocery produce, most fruits and vegetables can be easily grown for a more continuous supply. This will further allow SNAP benefits to stretch further as the benefits can be focused on buying items that can’t be grown. A DIY garden can be started with less than $100 dollars and the potential to increase the amount of available nutrition food is priceless. On average, most SNAP recipients receive about $189 each month to meet their nutrition needs. On the other hand, the average cost of groceries that each person needs each month is around $420, a $231 dollar deficit. If these people don’t have access to additional funds to supplement the deficit, most will ration their food out each month or starve themselves.
College students are another group that suffer from food insecurity and need more feasible solutions. Most college students aren’t eligible for SNAP benefits because they are still considered dependents of their parents and guardians. Freshman students are generally well taken care of because they are on mandated meal plans and often have plenty of support to meet their financial needs. Upperclassmen have less support and less access to the nutritious food they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle and perform well as they get closer to obtaining their degree (Loofbourrow and Scherr, 2023). Even with many schools having food pantries, the shame and guilt that many students face with having to use that option is make it not a feasible solution.
Creating a sustainable garden using one’s own bare hands surpasses just being a functional solution. A garden can bring joy and motivation for the future that a person was able to solve such a challenging situation. To start the garden, supplies can all be recycled materials found. Old wood can be repurposed and even plastic can be used to set up raised garden beds. Should you explain how? I’m not picturing how plastic can be used in a raised garden. Soil can be purchased or recycled as well using compost that can readily be found at garden centers. I have to say that the dirt and compost I buy at my local garden centers isn’t cheap. New gardeners should choose their favorite fruits and vegetables and then go to the local library to check out books to assist with the transition. Borrowing library books is cost-effective as limited funds aren’t used to purchase books. The only next step is to purchase the seeds and start planting! Okay, so I live in zone 6. (It used to be 5B, but it is getting warm enough so that the zone map tells me I have access to more plants. Still, when you buy seeds – assuming you have to wait for the ground to warm enough – you might be looking at 75 days from planting to a tomato, Should you identify the zone you are writing for? If you are in zone 9, say, your experience is much different than mine. Our season ends, maybe, late October, and with the lag time for seeds, the actual growing time is relatively short, which means hungry months from May to maybe July for some crops. The seeds will vary by season, so it is recommended to have seasonal garden beds and use seeds that are native to the region in which a person lives. As the seeds grow and the person learns more about the intricacies of gardening, this could also be another business venture. There are plenty of people that want to learn how to grow their own food as more people are becoming more health conscious about knowing what they are putting in their body.
Overall, there are only so many factors that a person can control, and the economic growth of a society is not one of them. Food prices are continuing to rise, and more people will starve if they don’t find an alternate solution to combat this. A garden can practically pay for itself and is something that those with financial constraints should learn to do. It is such a great joy to be able to grow your own food and provide for yourself without having to worry about price. Imagine a world where more people are healthy and there are less health complications because of eating more nutritious food.
References
Levi, R., Bleich, S. N., & Seligman, H. K. (2023). Food Insecurity and Diabetes: Overview of
Intersections and Potential Dual Solutions. Diabetes Care, 46(9), 1599–1608.
[https://doi.org/10.2337/dci23-0002](https://doi.org/10.2337/dci23-0002)
Loofbourrow, B. M., & Scherr, R. E. (2023). Food Insecurity in Higher Education: A
Contemporary Review of Impacts and Explorations of Solutions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(10), 5884.
[https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20105884](https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20105884)
For additional information on APA Style formatting, please consult the Edition.
**## JasonCarter-Essay1.docx**
## Home Gardening: A Solution for Food Insecurity
### Jason Carter
### Northwood University
### ENG 1150: English Composition 1
### Professor Janice Child
### April 6, 2025
Jason,
I garden, and I enjoyed this essay. It’s interesting and well-organized, but I questioned if you were writing for me in Michigan or someone miles farther south. Lots of people garden here. But it isn’t quite as easy as you suggest. Lots of people do raised beds – starting with sticks and twigs, then compost, then nice dirt. Then they plant and hope that the bunnies don’t get there first. Some people garden in neighborhood gardens, which seems like such a fun way to have a garden. I watch a fair amount of British gardening shows, and they seem to give everyone in their towns and villages access to plots in the neighborhood gardens. Neighborhood gardens make access to some of the tools that seem so helpful – like rototillers – accessible and free.
But here there is quite a delay with a vegetable garden from seed. I’m usually thrilled by a tomato or two. I’ve never had the patience or luck to get a vegetable garden growing starting from seed. I tend to lose interest when I realize it will be a month or more before I’ll see a broccoli with my name on it. If I’m going to grow tomatoes, I start with a plant anymore.
I’m going to be asking you to revise this essay for essay two. And by revise, I mean to see the topic with fresh eyes. Not just minor editing. I want a new essay on the same topic.
You can either write from the opposite point of view – which is a great thing to do when you are trying to persuade someone about something political. As you consider the opposition’s point of view, you get a sense of where there might be consensus and where you might find areas that would be easy to argue against – if you were ever to improve your first persuasive paper.
You could also take your broad topic and explore in greater detail some subtopic that interests you.
For example, …
you could focus on gardens for college students. I live close to Michigan State University, which began as Michigan Agricultural College in 1855. The central campus is surrounded by research labs, barns and fields that support its various agricultural programs.
When I came to East Lansing for grad school, my then-boyfriend told me I was going to a cow college. I was offended, but it was a clue that he was a moron.
It would be easy for MSU to find land and offer space and instruction for students in developing a garden. Why don’t they do that? I don’t know. Maybe they do.
There would be lots of benefits – the obvious one would be less food insecurity, but there would also be greater understanding of the agricultural community that makes up a big part of this state – which would be helpful for the students who are not enrolled in education related programs. Cars may be our first product, tourism may be second, but agricultural products would be right up there.
There would also be community outreach. There might be opportunities for the agricultural companies – seed producers, local (or university) farms involved in animal sciences to provide manure. This would be a public relations jackpot – tours, garden markets offering vegetables and products made from the crops, workshops to teach others to garden effectively.
(In fact, the PR benefits could be the paper. So could addressing ways to get involvement from third parties or students.)
Consider writing a persuasive essay aimed at the general audience, but also targeting institutions of higher education and the legislature suggesting that they act on the problem of food insecurity on campuses (and in the communities that surround them) to produce food that can be consumed by the grower and made available to the local community in need of help.
Now you pick a subtopic for essay 2:
You don’t have to use my topic, but don’t lose sight of the idea of making this a persuasive piece.
· What do you want to happen? (your thesis)
· What are the features and benefits if the plan is implemented
· What should your audience do to make this a reality (the call to action).
Home Gardening: A Solution for Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is a significant global health issue that has negatively impacted people for many decades. The lack of availability of access to food on a continuous basis should not be an issue that people face in this modern society. A challenging economy, increasing food prices, and lower wages are just some of the variables that contribute to food insecurity. Now is the time for people to focus more on factors
~~in which~~ (I’m going to offer ideas when it seems like your sentence would provide the same content without some unneeded words. Keep thinking about being concise.) they can control. and aA resolution to food insecurity is for people to engage in sustainable living by growing their own food.
Food insecurity is formally defined as reduced access to nutritious food that is needed to sustain a healthy lifestyle (Loofbourrow and Scherr, 2023). In past times, this was a problem that mostly only third world countries suffered from, but increasingly difficult economic times have seen more and more people in modern societies suffering from food insecurity. Food insecurity has been found to increase the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus which is a leading cause of death (Levi, Bleich, and Seligman, 2023). Food insecurity also affects the college landscape and leads to poorer academic performance and increasingly poorer health outcomes. Financial constraints are the largest factor contributing to these even with an increased number of food nutrition programs. (And it might be that some of the government funded food programs will be disappearing. Have you read about any that have been stopped. This is the only site I found that focused on U.S. food-related programs — https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-cuts-hit-struggling-food-banks-risking-hunger-low-income-americans-2025-03-25/.)
The most popular food nutrition program is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and is itit is available throughout our nation. Benefit recipients can use SNAP benefits to purchase seeds to grow food in their own backyards or common areas. Instead of depending on high food costs from grocery produce, most fruits and vegetables can be easily grown for a more continuous supply. This will further allow SNAP benefits to stretch further as the benefits can be focused on buying items that can’t be grown. A DIY garden can be started with less than $100 dollars and the potential to increase the amount of available nutrition food is priceless. On average, most SNAP recipients receive about $189 each month to meet their nutrition needs. On the other hand, the average cost of groceries that each person needs each month is around $420, a $231 dollar deficit. If these people don’t have access to additional funds to supplement the deficit, most will ration their food out each month or starve themselves.
College students are another group that suffer from food insecurity and need more feasible solutions. Most college students aren’t eligible for SNAP benefits because they are still considered dependents of their parents and guardians. Freshman students are generally well taken care of because they are on mandated meal plans and often have plenty of support to meet their financial needs. Upperclassmen have less support and less access to the nutritious food they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle and perform well as they get closer to obtaining their degree (Loofbourrow and Scherr, 2023). Even with many schools having food pantries, the shame and guilt that many students face with having to use that option is make it not a feasible solution.
Creating a sustainable garden using one’s own bare hands surpasses just being a functional solution. A garden can bring joy and motivation for the future that a person was able to solve such a challenging situation. To start the garden, supplies can all be recycled materials found. Old wood can be repurposed and even plastic can be used to set up raised garden beds. Should you explain how? I’m not picturing how plastic can be used in a raised garden. Soil can be purchased or recycled as well using compost that can readily be found at garden centers. I have to say that the dirt and compost I buy at my local garden centers isn’t cheap. New gardeners should choose their favorite fruits and vegetables and then go to the local library to check out books to assist with the transition. Borrowing library books is cost-effective as limited funds aren’t used to purchase books. The only next step is to purchase the seeds and start planting! Okay, so I live in zone 6. (It used to be 5B, but it is getting warm enough so that the zone map tells me I have access to more plants. Still, when you buy seeds – assuming you have to wait for the ground to warm enough – you might be looking at 75 days from planting to a tomato, Should you identify the zone you are writing for? If you are in zone 9, say, your experience is much different than mine. Our season ends, maybe, late October, and with the lag time for seeds, the actual growing time is relatively short, which means hungry months from May to maybe July for some crops. The seeds will vary by season, so it is recommended to have seasonal garden beds and use seeds that are native to the region in which a person lives. As the seeds grow and the person learns more about the intricacies of gardening, this could also be another business venture. There are plenty of people that want to learn how to grow their own food as more people are becoming more health conscious about knowing what they are putting in their body.
Overall, there are only so many factors that a person can control, and the economic growth of a society is not one of them. Food prices are continuing to rise, and more people will starve if they don’t find an alternate solution to combat this. A garden can practically pay for itself and is something that those with financial constraints should learn to do. It is such a great joy to be able to grow your own food and provide for yourself without having to worry about price. Imagine a world where more people are healthy and there are less health complications because of eating more nutritious food.
References
Levi, R., Bleich, S. N., & Seligman, H. K. (2023). Food Insecurity and Diabetes: Overview of
Intersections and Potential Dual Solutions. Diabetes Care, 46(9), 1599–1608.
[https://doi.org/10.2337/dci23-0002](https://doi.org/10.2337/dci23-0002)
Loofbourrow, B. M., & Scherr, R. E. (2023). Food Insecurity in Higher Education: A
Contemporary Review of Impacts and Explorations of Solutions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(10), 5884.
[https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20105884](https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20105884)
For additional information on APA Style formatting, please consult the Edition.