Jennifer Jo Thompson

At the intersection of science, health and agriculture, Thompson works to build sustainable food systems

By Emily Cabrera

What can you tell us about your journey to work in academia?

I grew up in Detroit. I did not grow up in an agricultural area, but I did have a family that always gardened, cooked and ate fresh and seasonal food. Generations of people on both sides of my family have had big gardens and care a lot about eating seasonally and making meals with fresh food. So there was this foundation, a love of the soil, a love of growing food, and a love of food systems, but I always treated it as a hobby. Now it’s the focus of my academic work.

My undergraduate focus was anthropology, but I was also heavily involved in theater. Then my master’s degree focused on folklore. I initially thought of it as a way to bring together my interests in theatre and culture, but what I got out of it was a way to understand culture as performative — meaning something we collectively produce through everyday practice. It was an interesting line of study. Still, it wasn’t very concrete, so after that I served as an AmeriCorps member working with youth programs, including one that engaged teens in service through a community garden.

When I began to consider a Ph.D., I stumbled upon medical anthropology quite unexpectedly. It is a pivotal point in my story because the frameworks I acquired as a medical anthropologist, especially at the intersection of science and society, greatly influenced my thinking. I learned to navigate how scientific knowledge intertwines with traditional knowledge systems and societal influences, shaping how we understand and interact with the world. Much of my doctoral work revolved around unraveling these complexities.

Backpacking in Switzerland during a semester of research leave at ETH Zurich’s Transdisciplinarity Lab, Thompson collaborated on sustainable development solutions that balance environmental limits with social justice.

Backpacking in Switzerland during a semester of research leave at ETH Zurich’s Transdisciplinarity Lab, Thompson collaborated on sustainable development solutions that balance environmental limits with social justice.

A lot of anthropology work tends to be done solo, but my advisor had training in public health as well as anthropology. His research approach exposed me to collaborative, interdisciplinary projects, often based in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona (UA). As I transitioned to the College of Agriculture at UA, I was equipped with similar lenses and frameworks, albeit applied to different topics.

The foundations I built in my Ph.D. journey prepared me to navigate interdisciplinary work and communicate effectively across diverse fields of study.

A black and white image of Thompson at a farmer's market. Thompson, on the right, is smiling as she talks to the market vendors who are selling various types of fresh produce.

The black and white image begins to become saturated with color, which shows Thompson at a farmer's market. Thompson, on the right, is smiling as she talks to the market vendors who are selling various types of fresh produce.

A colorful image of Thompson at a farmer's market, with a black and blue mural on the wall in the background and colorful vegetables lined up in baskets at the market booth. Thompson, on the right, is smiling as she talks to the market vendors who are selling various types of fresh produce.

When we relocated to Athens for my husband, a soil chemist at the University of Georgia, I was in the final stages of completing my dissertation. Initially, I taught anthropology here at UGA and at Emory University for a brief period, but I quickly realized I wanted to contribute to the local community more meaningfully. This pushed me to invest my efforts at UGA, so I took a postdoc studying undergraduate science education with Erin Dolan through the Division of Biological Sciences. This work taught me so much about how critical good mentoring is for student success, both through the research and Erin’s modeling. She is a fantastic mentor, and I learned so much from her.

Throughout this period, my husband and I actively tried to solve “the two-body problem,” where two academics try to find jobs in the same institution. I’m candidly discussing the spousal hire situation because it’s kept in the dark.

Years ago, Maria Navarro, a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication, gave me valuable advice, encouraging me never to feel ashamed about entering academia through a spousal hire arrangement. She emphasized the importance of speaking openly about this process because many academics, particularly women, have academic partners. She empowered me to embrace being transparent about this pathway.

I never would have expected to land in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, but working in the sustainable food systems space within the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences has been kind of perfect.

When I first joined the department with a background in medical anthropology, I identified community food systems as an area where I could make a direct contribution. I’ve focused extensively on nutrition programs to integrate fresh produce into diets to enhance overall health. This has included initiatives like Farm to School and the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription (FVRx) program, which aims to improve food security and access to fresh fruit and vegetables within underserved communities.

I’ve also collaborated with Jung Sun Lee, a faculty researcher in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, who helped establish the UGA SNAP-Ed program.

How did you become interested in agriculture and, more specifically, the human dimension of the field?

I’ve served as the director of the UGA Sustainable Food Systems Initiative for the last six years, which has given me an interdisciplinary home to meet people and further build some of these ideas out in more collaborative ways across disciplines.

As a faculty member in crop and soil sciences, I’ve had the unexpected but incredible opportunity to engage in hallway conversations with colleagues who do more agronomic and production agriculture research. I need to give Julia Gaskin, a UGA Cooperative Extension emeritus faculty member, a big shout-out for pulling me into farmer-focused work through the Precision Sustainable Agriculture research group. PSA has focused on developing site-specific knowledge to support farmers in effectively using cover crops in corn, soy and cotton.

The benefits of cover crops have been known for ages, but they’re still only used on a fraction of farmland. This focus on sustainable, or what’s now being called “climate-smart,” agriculture has become an increasing focus of my work and the work of my lab.

Critical social science questions need to be explored in these areas. Perhaps most importantly, how do we meet farmers where they are with the information, resources and social support they need to implement practices that will help them be more effective stewards of our most precious natural resources?

My background in medical anthropology and its connection to public health consistently informs my thinking and approach to this work. Over the past few decades, anthropology has played a crucial role in shaping public health outreach, education and interventions. It emphasizes cultural sensitivity and humility, acknowledging that culture shapes our values and how we frame problems. When engaging in cross-cultural exchanges, meeting people where they are and respecting their perspectives is essential.

These principles are particularly relevant in community food interventions, farm-to-school programs and produce-prescription initiatives, but they are also critical in working with farmers. The tools and insights I gained from medical anthropology translate effectively into my daily work. I see how the lenses I’ve developed continue to inform and enrich my work daily.

Thompson collaborates with UGA's Interdisciplinary Field Program students and the nonprofit Save Our Legacy Ourself (SOLO) on Sapelo Island, working to preserve cultural heritage and promote sustainable practices within the island’s Gullah-Geechee community.

Thompson collaborates with UGA's Interdisciplinary Field Program students and the nonprofit Save Our Legacy Ourself (SOLO) on Sapelo Island, working to preserve cultural heritage and promote sustainable practices within the island’s Gullah-Geechee community.

Researchers who conduct controlled studies gain valuable insights about the world, but they often feel frustrated when their findings don’t reach a broader audience or when they are less effective in applied settings.

While Extension and agricultural communications play crucial roles in disseminating information in this field, there is a need to integrate community-based and participatory approaches into scientific research from the beginning. We need to ask questions like:

How do local communities experience this issue?
What kind of knowledge would help people address their biggest concerns and priorities to improve lives and communities?
How can we address people’s questions and needs directly, filling the existing gaps, rather than insisting they adopt entirely different approaches?

For me, the latter aspect has become more prominent in the last couple of years because I’ve come to realize that it’s much more satisfying and, ultimately, more effective.

Thompson is giving a tour to students at UGArden, a student community farm on the UGA campus in Athens, Georgia. It's a sunny day, green grass lines a field of brown soil and green crops growing.

You’ve done a lot of work to promote access and diversity at CAES. Can you tell us more about that?

Many of the challenges within our food systems, particularly those related to inequity, disproportionately impact communities of color. However, only 3% of graduates in agricultural sciences identify as Black. There’s a critical need for diverse perspectives in the field to address inequities in food access, land loss and the decline of Black farmers.

In 2021, we received a USDA Higher Education Challenge grant written jointly with Kimberly Jackson, director of the Food Studies Program at Spelman College. Spelman, a historically black women’s college, produces exceptional scholars, many of whom graduate and become leaders in their careers. Nevertheless, many students doing a food studies minor don’t see a clear path to food and agricultural careers for themselves. Through this work, we aim to highlight diverse career paths in the food and agricultural sciences and support these students to become leaders in the field.

We are also prioritizing supporting food systems faculty and future faculty to develop mentorship skills and foster inclusive learning environments at both Spelman and UGA. This grant is a true partnership with shared goals and an equitable distribution of resources. Instead of focusing solely on recruitment numbers, we emphasize building relationships and trust, investing time in collaborative activities and cross-institutional internships and teaching.

I’ve recently learned that because of this partnership, there have been offshoots of collaborations with smaller grants and projects between a broader group of faculty and Spelman students.

It’s been incredibly satisfying to see these relationships grow beyond this project.

What is something you'd like the public to know about your work?

We have some big challenges to tackle in the next decade and we need all hands on deck. One of the most important things we can do to make a difference is to continue listening to local stakeholders and communities about what they’re experiencing, what they need, and the kinds of questions and challenges they face and orient our work in that way.

Marginalized communities disproportionately experience the complicated social and environmental challenges that we face. If we’re not careful about how we structure solutions, inequalities will become even more exacerbated. From end to end, we need to bring and keep as many voices at the table as possible.

One of the most important things we can do to make a difference is to continue listening to local stakeholders and communities about what they’re experiencing, what they need, and the kinds of questions and challenges they face and orient our work in that way.

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