Student Spotlight: Iris Sorrell turns research into action on food insecurity in Knox County

Growing up in Monroeville, Indiana—a small, rural town on the east side of the state—Iris Sorrell has long understood the power of community and the unique challenges rural areas face. 

This understanding has been further deepened through an O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs Master of Environmental Science capstone, where she joined a team of 16 students working under the direction of Associate Professor James Farmer. Their project focused on evaluating the emergency food relief system in Knox County, Indiana. 

Iris's interest in addressing food insecurity began during her senior year of her undergraduate program when she saw her campus food pantry shut down at a time when students were in critical need.

“It wasn’t just an abstract concept anymore—it was something directly affecting my closest friends,” she shared. This experience fueled her to continue to advocate for sufficient access to food.

Iris and her group focused on analyzing food policy at the state and federal levels, identifying service gaps in programs like SNAP and EBT, and highlighting underutilized resources in Knox County. Their primary objective was to turn this research into something meaningful for the local health department.

As Iris explained, “the big thing we tried to give, besides all of that information, was recommendations of directions to go forward.” 

The final analysis of the food system in Knox County included an assessment of the Knox County food landscape and a final deliverable that included a detailed inventory of local food pantries, a snapshot of federal food aid programs as of April 2025, and a series of proposals and recommendations to help guide future action, such as establishing an AmeriCorps position and forming a city-appointed food council.

Alan Stewart, who is a medical doctor, board-certified internist, and county health officer for Knox County, worked closely with Farmer on the project and appreciated Iris and her team’s recommendations.

“One of the things they did recommend that I was really excited about was the possibility of an Americorps worker who we could apply for and get that would be available,” Stewart said. He explained that amid program cuts, it would be beneficial to have someone who is working full-time on food issues.

While the team’s findings were well-received, Iris didn’t hesitate to acknowledge that building community partnerships wasn’t always easy. As an outsider in communities, Iris recognized that there can be a sense of distrust or hesitation that can lead to defensiveness and miscommunication. Being aware of these difficulties allowed Iris to approach situations with empathy, patience, and a sense of understanding that communities will make the best decisions for themselves and their residents.

“I’ve found that empathy goes a long way. It’s about stepping back, listening, and respecting that, ultimately, this is their community. Our job is to support—not to impose,” she said.

This mindset shaped how Iris and her team approached every step of the project. Their goal was to hand off something practical: a resource that local leaders could adapt and build upon. Rather than simply compiling and delivering data, they focused on developing practical tools and resources that could be immediately useful to local leaders.

Reflecting on this project, Colleen Rose, director of student engagement for the Center of Rural Engagement, emphasized the importance and mutual value of this initiative.

“The opportunity for IU students to engage with the Knox County community to develop practical, innovative, and location-specific strategies to address a challenge as significant as food security is invaluable,” Rose said. “The energy and hospitality that residents and leaders of Knox County shared with IU students built the foundation for learning that, in the end, resulted in mutually beneficial outcomes for everyone involved in the partnership.”

For Iris, the most rewarding part wasn’t just gathering the information—it was seeing it land with the people it was meant to serve.

“After our presentation, a woman came up to me with a thousand questions,” she recalled. “She was so excited to hear from us, especially because she was going back to school herself. It reminded me why this work matters.”

Looking back on her experience with the Center for Rural Engagement, Iris sees her time working with communities in Knox County as a meaningful culmination of her years of commitment to food security and service. After spending three years volunteering in food pantries, presenting her team’s capstone findings to local partners felt like a full-circle moment. 

“I had worked in food pantries for three years, and the final closing of the door of my food work for the past three years was presenting this capstone,” she reflected. 

What made the experience especially powerful, she said, was the opportunity to connect directly with the people her work aimed to support.

“Getting to go down there and talk to them and see how grateful they were that somebody came and helped and cared...it really made me realize that, at the end of the day, helping people in rural communities is something that I want to do for a long time,” Iris said. 

While Iris doesn’t intend to pursue a career specifically in food systems, this experience reaffirmed her desire to work in and with rural communities.

“These are the communities that raised me,” she said. “And I want to spend my life giving back.”