Community Engaged Scholarship and Teaching
Dr. Jennifer Gaddis joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Human Ecology after earning a PhD from the Yale School of the Environment in 2014. At Wisconsin, she has had the great pleasure and opportunity to grow as a community engaged scholar in the tradition of the Wisconsin Idea. Her work in this area has been recognized with recent honors including:
- Wisconsin Idea Teaching Award, 2025, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Excellence in Public Service Award, 2024, Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society
- Legislative citation from the State of Wisconsin
- Media profiles about her work
School Food Politics and Systems Change
Dr. Gaddis works across multiple scales of school food systems, from hyper local (Madison, WI) to international comparative research. She has conducted fieldwork across the United States and in East Asia. Her process follows school food from field to plate, intentionally engaging youth, families, food chain workers, and community in the process.
WisconsinPartnering with school districts, youth, and the Healthy School Meals for All Wisconsin coalition to maximize the public value of school food programs.
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United StatesCollaborating with national nonprofits, labor unions, researchers, and advocates to envision and enact positive school food systems change.
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InternationalLearning from countries around the world about the power and potential of school food as a form of collective care.
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Selected Publications
Mobilizing to Re-value and Re-skill Foodservice Labor in U.S. School Lunchrooms: A Pathway to Community-level Food Sovereignty?
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Reorganizing School Lunch for a More Just and Sustainable Food System in the US
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Sustainability Transitions in Agri-Food Systems: Insights from South Korea’s Universal Free, Eco-friendly School Lunch Program
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Incorporating Local Foods into Low-income Families’ Home-Cooking Practices: The Critical Role of Sustained Economic Subsidies
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Forging Links Between Food Chain Labor Activists and Academics
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