Food Security in the Midwest: Disparities for Oglala Lakota Nation of South Dakota

Nethmi Bathige is a native of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and is a rising senior at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Nethmi majors in biology and geography while completing concentrations in Food, Agriculture, and Society (FAS) and Community and Global Health (CGH). She is also currently working on her senior honors project about food security among smallholder farmers in Sri Lanka. Nethmi is interested in creating equitable and just food systems for everyone and has volunteered on the food policy team of a local climate justice non-profit called MN 350. This summer, she hopes to hone her advocacy skills so she can better help her local community overcome food insecurity. She is interning at the food shelf of the Centre for Asian & Pacific Islanders (CAPI USA) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Nick is from Indianola, Iowa. As of May 2022, he is an alumnus of Iowa State University with Bachelor of Science degrees in Global Resource Systems and Agriculture & Society (agricultural and rural policy studies), plus a minor study in Learning & Leadership Sciences. In 2017, he spent time interviewing farmers in rural India as a Borlaug-Ruan International Intern and, in 2019, collaborated with peers from around the world while studying at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands. Prior to joining the 29th class of Emerson Fellows, Nick worked as a Legislative Aide at the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), an opportunity made possible thanks to his initial stint at FRAC as a Zero Hunger Intern in the summer of 2021. Anti-hunger work has shaped much of Nick’s path for nearly a decade and he is thrilled to continue learning and leading as an Emerson Fellow.

Emily Irsik is originally from Emporia, Kansas, and attends Kansas State University. Her major is Nutrition and Health, but she plans to begin her master’s in Public Health Nutrition in the fall of 2021. She volunteers for community-based organizations along with national organizations. She is an advocate for mental health awareness and is passionate about ending the stigma around food insecurity. This summer, she hopes to gain advocacy and communication skills that will be represented in her future work. She is interning at the Topeka Rescue Mission.

Nick is from Indianola, Iowa. As of May 2022, he is an alumnus of Iowa State University with Bachelor of Science degrees in Global Resource Systems and Agriculture & Society (agricultural and rural policy studies), plus a minor study in Learning & Leadership Sciences. In 2017, he spent time interviewing farmers in rural India as a Borlaug-Ruan International Intern and, in 2019, collaborated with peers from around the world while studying at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands. Prior to joining the 29th class of Emerson Fellows, Nick worked as a Legislative Aide at the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), an opportunity made possible thanks to his initial stint at FRAC as a Zero Hunger Intern in the summer of 2021. Anti-hunger work has shaped much of Nick’s path for nearly a decade and he is thrilled to continue learning and leading as an Emerson Fellow.