National Health Outreach and Engagement Conference 2024

Mebane, P, Cooper, D, Malmin, N, and Seward, K.
In South Carolina, over 500,000 people are at risk of facing hunger. A recent Feeding America
report shows that 1 in 8 children face hunger. A collaboration between Extension Agents, a
Disaster Recovery and Resilience Researcher, and a youth group leader provided a unique
opportunity to educate youth about Policy, System, and Environmental Changes (PSE) by
actively engaging them in planning and implementing a PSE project in their communities.
Youth can be a driving force for change. They bring fresh ideas, new skills, and a unique
perspective to implementing community changes. The Healthy Youth (HYPE) project
empowers youth with the tools they need to participate in the decision-making process that
impacts our communities.

The HYPE project utilized a five-phased approach (think, act, learn, share, and evaluate) to
empower youth with the skills and information to address health disparities and chronic
diseases in their community. Youth collaboratively work together to develop critical thinking
skills, build relationships with community stakeholders, and have fun learning practical ways to
create policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes in their communities. Youth
participating in this project learned about climate change's impact on food security and
implemented a community project that improved food access in their community.