A framework for determining energy use in rural food delivery services: capturing system interdependencies through an agent-based discrete-event approach

Food e-commerce has seen significant growth over the past decade that accelerated after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last-mile transportation and logistics are widely considered the most expensive and least efficient portion of the supply chain and have multiple important energy trade-offs such as cargo capacity and consumer density. Last-mile transportation energy use in rural areas is underrepresented in the literature. This study proposes a hybrid agent-based and discrete event model framework for evaluating the last-mile transportation energy use of van- and car-based food delivery services in a rural community, based on meal-kit and grocery delivery operations, respectively. This framework quantifies last-mile energy use in rural areas, and is demonstrated here using a neighborhood outside of Austin, TX as an analytical testbed. The study focuses on the effects of consumer density, cargo limitations, and vehicle speed. For the conditions examined with this framework, diesel delivery vans use more total energy than passenger cars for the same trip, though a van delivering four orders uses less energy per-order than a car delivering one order. However, there are trade-offs between vehicle type and mileage, cargo capacity, route density, and speed that are particularly important for delivery services operating in rural areas. This framework can be used by service providers to assess route-specific trade-offs for each vehicle and gauge which is preferable for given operating conditions or to evaluate the energy, and thus also cost, impact of expanding their services to rural areas.

A pilot study exploring the impacts of COVID-19 on small-scale direct marketing farmers in northwest Arkansas and their responses to the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to many disruptions and challenges in local and national food systems in America. Many farms and market gardens were forced to innovate quickly and take action to survive ongoing disruption as these businesses struggled with finances and distribution of products among other challenges. Many small-scale, local farming operations in particular were able to respond to these disruptions in unique ways, which may offer useful insight into how to better prepare small farming communities for public health and other kinds of disasters in the future. This pilot study aims to better understand how COVID-19 affected the local food system in the region of Northwest Arkansas in the mid-southern United States and how small-scale, direct-sales farmers responded to the pandemic, through a survey and interview about their experiences from 2019 to 2021. Participating farmers reported changes in farming procedures and challenges in owning or working on their farms due to ongoing climate-related environmental issues or issues specific to the pandemic, such as distributing products, utilizing financial and other resources of support, and partnering with local supply-chain partners and community members to ensure local businesses' survival during COVID-19. This pilot study can provide insight into how local farming operations and their regional and smaller-scale supply chain partners have built and utilized community resilience strategies to survive COVID-19 challenges in the Northwest region of Arkansas. A statewide follow-up study will be conducted to observe how these producers navigated these challenges on a larger scale, including in different regions of Arkansas following the start of the pandemic.

Racial disparities in air pollution burden and COVID-19 deaths in Louisiana, USA, in the context of long-term changes in fine particulate pollution. (Special Issue: Disparities during times of a pandemic and epidemic.)

Black Americans in Louisiana are disproportionately dying from COVID-19, and environmental disparities may be contributing to this injustice. While Black communities in Louisiana's industrialized regions (e.g., Cancer Alley, Calcasieu Parish) have been overburdened with pollution for decades, this disparity has not been evaluated by using recent data. Here, we explore statewide relationships among air pollution burden, race, COVID-19 death rates, and other health/socioeconomic factors. Measures of pollution burden included satellite-derived particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations and health risks from toxic air pollution (i.e., respiratory hazard [RH] and immunological hazard [IH], estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency). In addition, we evaluate changes in emissions and ambient concentrations of fine PM2.5 in Louisiana over the past few decades. Our overall goal was to better understand Louisiana's burden of air pollution in the context of COVID-19. By all measures, a higher burden of air pollution was associated with larger percentages of Black residents and increased unemployment across Louisiana census tracts. Across parishes, higher COVID-19 death rates were associated with increased RH and IH and larger percentages of Black residents. These associations were not driven by diabetes, obesity, smoking, age, or poverty. Industrial sources comprised more of Louisiana's PM2.5 in 2017 versus 1990, as vehicle contributions declined 75% whereas industrial emissions remained about the same overall (despite variation in the interim). Ambient concentrations of PM2.5 decreased statewide from 2000 to 2015, but subsequently increased in south Louisiana, concurrent with an upward trend in industrial emissions. Our findings highlight the critical need to address Louisiana's pollution disparities and to recognize air pollution exposure as a risk factor for COVID-19.

Collegiate student-athlete psychological distress and counseling utilization during COVID-19

The onset of COVID-19 and cancellation of collegiate sports may have exacerbated student-athletes' psychological distress. Within a national sample of collegiate athletes (N = 5,755;66.7% women), we determined how gender and race related to rates of depression, stress, and counseling use at the beginning of the pandemic (April/May 2020). Overall, 26.5% (n = 1,526) and 10.6% (n = 612) endorsed clinical levels of depression and stress, respectively;25.1% (n = 1,443) and 69.7% (n = 4,014) reported subclinical levels. Few athletes (2.3%-17.1%) reported counseling use before or after the onset of COVID-19;those who did reported higher levels of depression and stress than those who never sought services. The female athletes reported higher rates of depression, stress, and counseling use than the male athletes. There were no race effects. Athletic departments must address their student-athletes' psychological distress by facilitating a higher use of mental health services.

Clinical spectrum of COVID-19 and plasma angiotensin II levels

Angiotensin II levels in COVID-19 are controversial. We studied 12 hospitalized patients, including their baseline levels of peripheral lymphocyte subsets (via flow cytometry) and plasma angiotensin II (via radioimmunoassay). Controls comprised radioimmunoassay's 124 healthy subjects. Angiotensin II levels (pg/ml) were elevated among patients versus controls (Mean +or- standard deviation: 98.8 +or- 146.9 versus 23.7 +or- 15.6, p < 0.0001;Median, interquartile range: 27, 20 to 116 versus 22, 14 to 28). Half the patients had lymphocytopenia (< 1000 cells/mm3), and the CD3+/CD4+ counts were negatively associated with body mass index, viral load, hospital stay and non-home discharge. Angiotensin II imbalance appears to be a biomarker for COVID-19 morbidity and merits further investigation.

Soybean science challenge: growing soybean education beyond our borders

The Soybean Science Challenge (SSC) continues to support Arkansas STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) educational goals. It aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Junior high and high-school students are engaged in active learning and the co-creation of knowledge through the support of classroom-based lessons and applied student research. The SSC educates and engages junior high and high school science students and teachers in 'real-world' Arkansas-specific soybean science education through an original NGSS-aligned curriculum in 7E and GRC-3D format and a continuum of educational methods, which include: teacher workshops, online and virtual live stream education, virtual NGSS aligned mini-lessons for the science classroom, community gardens, personal mentoring, student-led research and corresponding award recognition, and partnerships with state and national educators, agencies and the popular media. The COVID19 global pandemic continued to alter the educational landscape in 2021, despite increased in-person instruction. The Soybean Science Challenge (SSC), by nature of its existing design and methodology, launched online Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) aligned Gathering Reasoning and Communicating (GRC)-3D and 7E lesson plans for teachers. An online course was added, including NGSS-aligned mini-lesson videos for the science classroom, and additional virtual field trips were added to the list on the Soybean Science Challenge website. The Challenge also sponsored the Arkansas Science Teacher Association Conference in October 2021, and the SSC Coordinator Diedre Young conducted a workshop on bringing agriculturally based lessons into the science classroom. The Soybean Science Challenge was also active in science fairs across the state, judging participants at both the regional and state levels. The SSC is in its second year of the junior level award at regional science fairs. Through the SSC, teachers now have access to a plethora of educational instructions that bring real-world agricultural critical thinking into the classroom and students' homes. The SSC has learned that not only do Arkansas teachers and students benefit from these additional resources but teachers and students from other states benefit as well. In 2021, the SSC program reached over 3,000 students and teachers through in-person, digital, virtual, and print methods.

Helping Louisiana's shrimp industry during the pandemic

This article reports on the inclusion of wild-caught shrimp in the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) program to help Louisiana's shrimp industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of a quick Sea Grant mobilization, $50 million in cash from USDA was infused into the shrimping industry, and 7.6 million pounds of Louisiana shrimp were taken out of inventory and distributed nationwide.

Louisiana nurseries: a growing industry dealing with labor shortages

This article presents an overview of the growth of the Louisiana nursery industry and the labour challenges the industry is facing. Labour issues in the nursery industry are not easily solved, considering the nature and seasonality of employment and competition from other industries. Despite the benefits associated with the H-2A guest worker program, particularly securing seasonal workers in times of need, which allows nurseries to cope with labour shortages, few Louisiana nurseries rely on the H-2A program. Moreover, prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic also raises concerns on ways the industry needs may change and how it will affect securing labour.

Pandemic Response: LSU AgCenter takes virtual nutrition education to limited resource audiences

LSU AgCenter family and consumer sciences nutrition agents across Louisiana taught nutrition education classes to adults and children face-to-face in their communities and in schools. But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person classes were halted in March 2020. To continue their outreach, the agents from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed), the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and the Flavors of Health program worked together to develop a virtual nutrition education program. To reach the specific audiences, the LSU AgCenter agents collaborated with community partners, such as local libraries, Head Start, WIC clinics and schools, to enroll participants for classes. Promotional videos featuring SNAP-Ed and EFNEP nutrition agents were produced to explain the benefits of attending the classes and how to register. Over time, EFNEP and SNAP-Ed nutrition agents and educators embraced virtual programming and were able to recruit and deliver nutrition education programs from their homes or offices. The benefit to offering virtual nutrition education classes was that AgCenter agents could remain visible in their community and still connect with their audiences while remaining safe during the pandemic.

PANDEMIC RESPONSE: LSU AgCenter agents teach nutrition through snacks

This article describes how the LSU AgCenter agents with the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program led a surprise "Snack Pack Cooking Class" for students at North Highlands Elementary School and Oak Park Microsociety Elementary School in Shreveport, Louisiana, in April and May of 2021. The AgCenter agents provided each student with a box of ingredients, a paper cookbook with recipes and handouts, and a paper chef's hat. Students prepared turkey ranch wraps, which served as the after-school snack, and an under-the-sea snack mix, which the students took home. The classes allowed for a hands-on, interactive experience, while adhering to COVID-19 guidelines. The students had to identify each food's category using the MyPlate guideline for nutrition. Of the 52 students, 50 reported that they tried a new vegetable because of the class. These 2 schools have participated in EFNEP nutrition lessons during after-school activities during this past school year hosted by the Fully Devoted Developers of Children Winners' Circle, a nonprofit group in Shreveport that partners with the AgCenter. This group provided funds for the classes and purchased picnic tables for the 2 schools.

Pandemic response: 4-H'ers learn about agriculture through seed-of-the-month club

The COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges for the LSU AgCenter 4-H program. To meet social distancing guidelines and ensure the safety of youth and agents, many of programming efforts transitioned to a virtual format. However, the need remained for hands-on learning opportunities. 4-H programming is driven by the motto "learn by doing", and it was paramount that agents provide purposeful and engaging activities. The 4-H Seed-of-the-Month Club is a project club that emerged to meet that need. Agents created a nine-month seed subscription made available to youth across the region beginning in August 2020. With this project, participating youth were provided seeds of various plants, including pine seedlings, rainbow carrots, easter egg radishes, lettuce, green beans, okra, squash and coneflowers. Agents used the LSU AgCenter Louisiana planting guide to select the seeds to offer each month. In the future, agents and youth alike have expressed an interest in continuing to provide horticulture opportunities through the delivery mode of the Seed-of-the-Month Club. Participants were asked to provide top choices for their gardens by receiving carrots, lettuce and green bean seeds for the future.

Research update: "Growing" sustainable horticulture farmers

Various extension programs across the country offer educational and practical opportunities for new and beginning farmers. In recent years, Louisiana has experienced a boom in horticultural farm businesses managed by new and beginning farmers. Though access to land and credit are often cited as two primary challenges that new and beginning farmers face, access to market channels and business management skills are also key to building sustainable farm businesses. Moreover, strong social networks where new and beginning farmers can freely exchange ideas, network, share resources, and provide trainings are essential to the development of new and beginning farmers. This research focuses primarily on horticulture farmers' perceptions of business management skills and risk management. We used data collected as a part of the evaluation program for the Grow Louisiana Beginning Farmer Training Program (Grow Louisiana), an extension program offered by the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Grow Louisiana is a partnership of academic, cooperative extension, and nonprofit organizations to train fruit and vegetable farmers with less than 10 years of experience on small to mid-size farms in Louisiana. Focused on the southeastern region of Louisiana, the program emphasizes sustainable agricultural practices and local food systems. The year-long program offers participants training in whole-farm planning and risk management based on the following principles: (i) sustainable agriculture and business practices, (ii) resource optimization, (iii) objective decision making, and (iv) efficient work practices. The program trained 16 farmers per year and apart from educational training, promotes networking and mentoring among farmers across the state. This study used a mixed methods approach to analyze program evaluation data from the 3-year program (2018-2021). The first year the program was offered in person, the second year moved to a hybrid model when measures were taken to address participant safety due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the third year was completed mostly online. Data were collected pre- and postprogram through needs assessments, interviews, and focus groups with participants. Findings add to existing literature and highlight the importance of business and marketing planning in the development and training of new and beginning farmers. Moreover, the study provides useful information for extension practices considering the variety of methods of delivery by year (i.e., in person, hybrid, online).

Research update: Arkansas food pantries and perceived barriers to client-choice conversion

To address food insecurity, community-based food pantries typically distribute food to area residents using a prefilled bag/box of items (traditional method), or by allowing clients to select items (client-choice method). Prior efforts have found client-choice pantries are often preferred by clients, allowing them more control and dignity over their food choices. However, limited research exists examining barriers to client-choice conversion that pantries may face. Many pantries continue to follow the traditional model. This is especially true in Arkansas, which frequently ranks high in the nation in food-insecure households. The Arkansas Foodbank (AFB) serves as the state's largest nongovernmental provider of food aid, working with over 400 pantries. Despite efforts by the AFB to promote client-choice conversion, in 2020 only 13% of Arkansas pantries offered client-choice. To identify perceived barriers to client-choice conversion, we conducted a mixed-methods survey sent to 366 Arkansas pantry managers during spring 2021. The survey featured questions concerning the feasibility of and potential barriers to offering the client-choice option and had a response rate of 36%. Following grounded theory, a thematic analysis approach was used to code and analyze responses to the open-ended, qualitative survey questions. Preliminary results uncovered five primary themes and six sub-themes, indicating perceived barriers to client-choice conversion. These included concerns related to pantry space and location (37%), volunteer and staffing needs (35%), lack of awareness concerning client-choice options (28%), COVID-19 concerns (27%), and perceived client greed and client distrust (12%). Our preliminary findings suggest food pantry stakeholders may need additional outreach and education concerning the various ways that the client-choice method can be implemented. Our results have important implications for those involved in distributing food aid to food-insecure households.

Research update: COVID-19 and marketing challenges for food producers in Louisiana

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the operations of many farm and food businesses across Louisiana. Producers had to adapt to changes or closures of market outlets, including farmers markets, farm-to-school programs, and restaurants. Using data collected from an online survey, this research examines pre- and post-pandemic marketing channels and challenges faced by food producers.

COVID-19 rural health inequities: insights from a real-world scenario. (Special Issue: COVID-19 and health inequities: insights from communication research and practice.)

Background: During the pandemic, Mount Pleasant, Texas became a hotspot for Covid-19 cases in the Hispanic community employed by a local meat packing plant and many other industries. An important consideration for rural communities is the language barrier and lack of easily accessible Spanish information explaining Covid-19. In addition, rapidly changing discoveries about the virus and subsequent vaccines creates a sense of confusion within this population already burdened with difficulty understanding health information leading to even more confusion about prevention, treatment and vaccine acceptance.

Extension brief: providing educational support during a public health emergency

This article briefly describes a series of extension materials created by LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant to assist different sectors of the community to respond to public health concerns associated with COVID-19. The materials created included a series of fact sheets on a variety of issues, including food delivery and take-out, fishing safety information and seafood processing plants. In addition, a series of six posters was developed to create awareness of social distancing among store employees and customers. Two fact sheets were created for the seafood industry. "Fishing Safety and Information During a Public Health Emergency" highlights the health of people working on the boats, the proper use of disinfectants, and considerations when fishers sell their catch directly to consumers. The other fact sheet is "Public Health Emergency Response for Seafood Processing Plants During COVID-19," which provides guidance on the risks associated for processing plants during the pandemic, how to identify high-risk areas, and how to control and prevent the transmission of the virus among employees and visitors. The goal is to minimize person-to-person contact in the plant and during processing. To help create awareness on the control and prevention of the transmission of COVID-19, graphics and videos are available on the LSU AgCenter website for sharing through social media.

Soybean Science Challenge: sustaining education during a pandemic

The Soybean Science Challenge (SSC) continues to support Arkansas STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) educational goals, is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and engages junior high and high school students in active learning and the co-creation of knowledge through support of classroom-based lessons and applied student research. The SSC educates and engages junior high and high school science students and teachers in 'real-world' Arkansas specific soybean science education through original NGSS aligned curriculum in 7E and Gathering Reasoning and Communicating (GRC)-3D format and a continuum of educational methods which include: teacher workshops, online and virtual education, NGSS aligned mini-lessons for science classrooms, community gardens, personal mentoring, student-led research and corresponding award recognition, and partnerships with state and national educators, agencies, and the popular media. The COVID-19 global pandemic altered the educational landscape in 2020 and continues to do so. The new educational environment has seen an increase in virtual classrooms, online courses, and interactions with Zoom © . The Soybean Science Challenge (SSC), by nature of its existing design and methodology, was and is amid these methods by launching online Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) aligned Gathering Reasoning and Communicating (GRC)-3D and 7E lesson plans for teachers, adding an online course, adding NGSS aligned mini-lesson videos for the science classroom, and adding virtual field trips to the list on the Soybean Science Challenge website. The Challenge also sponsored the virtual Arkansas Science Teacher Association Conference, and the SSC Coordinator taught virtual workshops on bringing agriculturally based lessons into science classrooms. The Soybean Science Challenge virtually judged participants at both the regional and state level, and SSC added a junior level award at regional science fairs. Through the SSC, teachers now have access to a plethora of educational instructions that bring real-world agricultural critical thinking both into the classroom and the homes of students.

Gardening in Louisiana during the COVID-19 pandemic

This article presents preliminary results from an ongoing survey (Louisiana, USA) asking participants how long they have been gardening, how much time they spent in the garden before and during the stay-at-home orders, and how much time they expect to spend in the garden after the COVID-19 pandemic.

How we learned to question everything. (Special Issue: Snapshot: documenting museum education during intersecting pandemics.)

With the onset of the pandemic, Philbrook Museum of Art's education department grappled with loss of staff, suspension of long-standing programs, and an unclear sense of identity and purpose. As the larger institution sought to continue a transformation towards more equitable and culturally resonant practices, we undertook a process of self-reflection that revealed how much previous program commitments had hindered the pace of change. Through choosing to leave behind inherited departmental structures and committing more time to relationships with colleagues and partners, we found a more sustainable, equitable, and impactful trajectory for our work.

Analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on Texas high plains agriculture. (Special Issue: Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on agriculture and natural resources in the Western U.S.)

This study looks at the farm-level impacts of COVID-19 on six case study model operations created by local Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Risk Management Specialists. Texas High Plains producers faced many new uncertainties with the arrival of COVID19. Significant supply chain disruptions, reductions in consumer demand and decreases in travel negatively affected agricultural operations. In addition, efforts taken to stem contagion lessened the amount of food consumed away from home, and restrictions on movement sharply reduced gasoline usage, and with it demand for grain ethanol. Elevated cases among livestock processing facilities disrupted normal business practices and increased costs. In fact, early in the pandemic the Texas High Plains region was considered a COVID-19 "hot spot" as many area processing plants faced reduced workforces and slower production times due to high numbers of positive cases.