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Background To achieve a healthy sustainable food system globally, it is imperative to understand how local food systems can provide healthy and sustainable conditions. Objective To explore, through the indigenous community of Caliata in the Ecuadorian highlands, the factors that support or hinder sustainable Andean food systems. Methods We designed a participatory mixed-methods study in Caliata (Chimborazo, Ecuador), and an inclusive and transdisciplinary research process with constant member checking. The study combined culturally validated qualitative methods (n = 49), agroecology-based site analysis, and household surveys (N = 57), including a modified 48-hour recall. We used the NOVA food classification to categorize the diet according to levels of processing and analyzed categorical and numeric data to understand the interplay of parcel size, agrodiversity, and diet diversity. Results First, the agroecological space is defined by the stewardship of Pachamama (Mother Nature), a central role in Andean cosmovision, leading to trophic interactions and cycles characterized by a diversity of heterarchical social organizations and agroecologically useful species. Second, consistency was found in dietary patterns; all respondents consume their produce, fruits being the most popular snack (in a 24-hour period 70% reported an average of 2.2 servings), and two-thirds of households consume unprocessed or minimally processed foods. Third, gendered agriculture and population aging represent demographic challenges, while chronic health problems remain relatively infrequent compared to the general population. Fourth, food sovereignty is an ecocentric concept based on production, exchanges of seeds and produce, consumption of produce, and knowledge of how agroecological space is treated. This system represents a nutrient loop tied to a system of knowledge about how to care for soil, land, and the ecological community. Conclusion Caliata provides important perspectives on linkages between diet, biodiversity, use of agroecological space, and rural-urban dynamics. This small indigenous community offers lessons for achieving both healthy ecosystems and food security.

Declines in college persistence can lead to an array of negative individual-level consequences that can have implications for society in general. Dropout rates are higher among underrepresented minority college students (e.g., African American, Hispanic, and Native American/Alaska Native students) than among their nonminority peers. It has been postulated that these dropout rates are tied to social belonging; minorities drop out because they question whether they belong on a college campus. An earlier social-belonging intervention showed significant improvements in retention among minority students. The new randomized, controlled trial reported here tests, You Are College Material–You Belong, a brief social-belonging intervention. The sample for this study consisted of 207 students who self-enrolled in a section of the required freshmen preparation course at a community college; this location had the highest minority enrollment in the system. Of the 207 students, 102 were assigned to a control group and 105 to an experimental group. The results indicate that the fall-to-spring reenrollment rate was 17.4 percentage points higher among students in the experimental cohort than among counterparts in the control cohort. Studies in several disciplines have demonstrated that a sense of belonging is associated with a range of beneficial wellness and educational outcomes among all student racial groups. The results of this study suggest that social-belonging interventions can contribute to the improvement of academic retention outcomes for minority students.

Background College dropout has been described as an epidemic, with underrepresented minority (URM) students having the highest dropout rates at colleges and universities. This study examines interpersonal violence and substance use as potential threats to the academic success of URM students. Methods This study is a secondary data analysis of the National College Health Assessment. Results Significant decreases for grade point average (GPA) in African American students were associated with physical violence and marijuana use. For Hispanic/Latinx students, physical violence, marijuana use, and methamphetamine use were significantly associated with decreases in GPA. American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian students’ decreases in GPA were significantly associated with marijuana use. Conclusions Results of the study indicated that substance use and interpersonal violence are associated with decreases in GPA for various groups of URM. These findings are disconcerting and relay the importance for colleges and universities to undertake strategies to increase the retention of URM students.