Food for Change: Fighting Student Hunger Through Higher Education Partnerships

Hosted by Lone Star College

What if the goal of a food bank were to make itself unnecessary?

That’s the vision behind the Houston Food Bank—and the focus of this behind-the-scenes experience for CUMU members.
Go beyond emergency food assistance to explore Food for Change (FFC), the Food Bank’s strategy for addressing the root causes of hunger. Through partnerships with schools, colleges, and community organizations, FFC connects food assistance with resources that support health, economic stability, and long-term success.

A Partnership That Supports Students

Learn how food scholarships, campus food pantries, and CARE programs are helping students balance food security with college, work, and family responsibilities—and how similar partnerships can support student success at your institution.

What You’ll Experience

• Operations Tour: See procurement, warehousing, transportation, quality control, and disaster-response operations serving an 18-county region.
• General Assembly: Learn how food scholarships work, explore successful education partnerships, and discover how to launch a Food for Change Market on your campus.

You’ll leave with practical ideas, new connections, and strategies for addressing food insecurity while strengthening student success.

One Century Strong: The PVAMU Extension Community Expo

Hosted by Prairie View A&M University

Since 1914, Prairie View A&M University Extension (PVAMU Extension) has served as a cornerstone of community life across more than 56 Texas counties, bridging the gap between research-based knowledge and the people who need it most. Operating at the intersection of academia and lived community experience, PVAMU Extension exemplifies what sustainable, equitable cross-sector partnership looks like in practice.

Spanning Agriculture & Natural Resources, Community & Economic Development, 4-H Youth Development, and Family & Community Health, PVAMU Extension strengthens democratic participation by making research accessible, actionable, and equitable. The PVAMU Wellness in Houston initiative further demonstrates this commitment, uniting five colleges to address health disparities and food insecurity in under-resourced greater Houston communities.

We believe lasting resilience is built through presence, trust, and human connection.

Come see our mission in action. The PVAMU Extension Program Expo is a hands-on experience where you’ll explore our three mobile units, engage with a panel of community partners and staff, and leave with samples and keepsakes. Whether you’re a longtime champion or discovering us for the first time, there’s something here for everyone. Attend our experience and see firsthand why PVAMU Extension has been a trusted community resource for over a century.

• The Great Land Purchase Forum Drives Impact

Training for Space: Behind the Scenes at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory

Hosted by University of Houston–Clear Lake

Get an up-close look at the people, technology and teamwork behind human spaceflight, and learn from University of Houston Clear Lake students about their experience working in the ultimate experiential learning environment.

Step inside NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) in Houston for a rare behind-the-scenes look at one of the world’s largest indoor pools—and one of the most remarkable astronaut training environments anywhere. The NBL allows astronauts to train underwater in conditions that approximate the challenges of working in microgravity using full-scale mockups of the International Space Station modules and realistic models of the moon’s surface.

Student placements at the NBL are just one of several opportunities, available across all majors, with local aerospace and other industry partners.

Important Access Requirement: The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory is a secured NASA facility. Participation in this Community Experience requires advance security registration and is limited to U.S. citizens. Registered participants will receive instructions regarding the information and identification required for facility access.

When registering, participants will be asked to provide an email address to which a link to the required access forms will be sent. Registrations for this community experience closes on October 21, 2026.

• NASA Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory
• What’s Behind This Door? Neutral Buoyancy Lab video

UHD and the Harris County Justice System: Connections of Place, People and Pedagogy

Hosted by University of Houston–Downtown

The Department of Criminal Justice & Social Work at the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) occupies a space ensconced by city and county facilities. Within an approximately four-block radius, our building’s physical context includes six courthouses and seven jails. Our professors have developed meaningful relationships with our justice-affiliated neighbors, and as a result, our students benefit from learning criminal justice theory in an environment of relevant application. Students engage with mutually beneficial service-learning projects and internships within the jails and the courts.

In your visit to UHD’s College of Public Service, your learning will be contextualized as you step into our students’ worlds. Representatives from the Harris County Jails will join us to discuss their long-standing relationship with a member of our Criminal Justice faculty and how that has engendered critical internship and service-learning involvement—and often post-graduation employment!—for our students. Another Criminal Justice faculty member will guide you on an observational tour to one of our nearby courts, where our students participate in the Houston Court Watch Program that was established in partnership with the Harris County Public Defender’s Office (Houston Court Watch). Finally, you will hear directly from faculty, students, and alumni as we gather for a culminating panel discussion and Q&A.

• Houston Court Watch Program
• “It Was A Humbling Experience”: Service Learning in A Criminal Justice Research Methods Course and Student Perceptions of the Judicial System, Research, and Careers
• Message from Sheriff Ed Gonzalez—Celebrating Our Deputies and Frontline Heroes
• Service Learning of An Inmate Re-entry Program In An Urban Commuter University (PDF)