Rogers State University professors, graduate students and undergraduate students recently collaborated on a research project in partnership with the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.
The report, titled “The Need for Food Among Native American Communities in Oklahoma,” was published in July 2023. The report’s objective was to ascertain pertinent factors related to the necessity of sustenance among economically disadvantaged Native American individuals residing in Oklahoma.
The report was collaborated upon by two professors, Dr. Kathy Hoppe, assistant professor of psychology and sociology, and Felipe Oyarzo, founding director and researcher for RSU’s Poverty, Family, and Trauma Research Center; two graduate students from RSU’s Master of Science in Community Counseling program, Trixi Asher of Chelsea and Chris Harrison of West Midlands, FN; one RSU undergraduate student, Riley Suiter of Pryor; and one student from the University of Oklahoma, Francisca Oyarzo.
According to Professor Oyarzo, the research will be used by the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma for an upcoming project being developed with Feed America.
Oyarzo and Hoppe are members of the leadership team for RSU’s Poverty, Family and Trauma Research Center, a project that exists for the purpose of producing high-quality empirical research on family problems related to poverty and trauma, seeking to identify strategies for addressing the problems in Oklahoma and other regions of the country and world, influencing policymaking, international research, counseling and education.
For more information about the Poverty, Family and Trauma Research Center, visit www.rsu.edu/ResearchCenter.