# data[].attributes.headline
THEME: Food Literacy & Community Resilience

# data[].attributes.subject
THEME: Food Literacy & Community Resilience

# data[].attributes.body
Create a Food Literacy focused Program at CCM that aligns initiatives with the recently published NJ Food Security Strategy.

Program Name Ideas:

CCM Seeds of Success

CCM Food Futures

CCM Gather & Grow

CCM Grow to Know Network.

Background:

NJ's first ever Food Security Strategy was published just this February 2026, and is an innovative, statewide effort to ensure reliable access to nutritious food, focusing on availability, sustainability, and community-driven, data-informed solutions. This strategy takes effect on our communities and an intertwined web of related food system industries. Educational institutions like CCM are a key player in this web, as we have the tools to convey food-based knowledge and awareness to the general public (food literacy). And SO:

CCM could align with this state initiative, and teach the community to nourish and care for our land, ourselves, and community as a whole. Imagine something like cooperative extension, but more accessible and focused around Morris County qualities and our own local community barriers.

Potential Projects:

CCM Free Farmers Market (Can CCM grow the vegetables and distribute it to both hungry students & community food pantries?)

Community Workshops & Webinars: "How-to" Courses:

preserve food

compost food

grow a tree

growing indoor herbs

nutrition on a budget

+ more

Info Webinars:

Webinars with industry professionals sharing their knowledge on relevant topics.

Sustainable Food Systems Fellowship for CCM Students (Student interns will learn & work in the sustainable agriculture and food systems field, while gaining professional development skills)

Potential Collaborators:

Small and large scale industries across our community (Food Pantries, SNAP & WIC Partnerships, Small Business, Local Markets, Farmers, Land Protection Organizations, Historical Land Societies, Schools & Youth Organizations, Community Gardens, Non-Profits, NJ-FDA, NJ-USDA, etc)

The NJ State Office of the Food Security Advocate

CCM Faculty: cross-collaboration across the CCM Schools (involves health equity, nutrition, horticulture, land preservation, workforce development, social work, business and culinary entrepreneurship, policy, + more.) An enthusiastic staff, Amy Voigt.

# data[].attributes.body
Create a native pollinator garden in large virtually empty beds outside of Music building. Attract butterflies, hummingbirds, etc. and enhance the beauty of this under-appreciated nook. Place a garden bench or two so students and employees can relax and recharge while observing nature's beauty. Possible collaboration with Rutgers Master Gardeners program.

# data[].attributes.body
Expand access to campus for students who lack transportation options by providing a shuttle service. A CCM van can swing by a few central stops 2-4 x/day M-Th to pick up passengers and bring them to campus and back. Part time job for a driver.

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators:

Potential Projects:

Employee mental health initiative

Potential collaborators:

On-campus PD workshops

Potential collaborators:

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s). Potential theme collaborators: Potential Projects:

Speed Networking: co-worker edition

Potential collaborators: Amy Garcia, Paulina Cardaci, Karyn Norberg

Employee fun-day

Potential collaborators:

Titan Trivia

Potential collaborators:

College hour clubs/learning communities

Potential collaborators: Karyn Norberg

Opportunities to do community services projects in local area

Potential collaborators: Kelly Meola

Lunch-time meet ups for employees to sit with other department staff, and get to know them

Potential collaborators:

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators:

Projects:

VR Body Image software

Potential collaborators: Drew Goldstein, Paulina Cardaci

3D anatomical models (i.e. Anamotage table)

Potential collaborators: Drew Goldstein, Paulina Cardaci

Athletics YouTube recording/live streaming

Potential collaborators:

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators:

Projects:

Student scheduler app

Potential collaborators: Heather Schaab

Payment option free for students and collect % of future wages

Potential collaborators: Heather Schaab

Student engagement software/app

Potential collaborators: Amy Garcia

Rethink college hour

Potential collaborators: Heather Schaab

Increase campus club visibility

Potential collaborators: Heather Schaab

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators:

Potential Projects:

Rent out studio to make some money for the college as well as give trainings for students in program

Potential collaborators:

Electric charging stations

Potential collaborators: Julie Gause

Campus bike sharing program

Potential collaborators: Kelly Meola, Don Phelps, Drew Goldstein

Running a ghost kitchen

Potential collaborators:

Community Teaching Conference

Potential collaborators:

Shop Local Morris Day

Potential collaborators:

Lab rental for companies

Potential collaborators:

Old computer auction program/team up with other community colleges (PCs for People)

Potential collaborators:

Maker space/hacker space membership fee for local community

Potential collaborators: Julie Gause, Drew Goldstein

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators:

Potential Projects:

College-wide AI Policy

Potential collaborators: Heather Schaab (SGA interest), Drew Goldstein

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) & Anti-OCR technology

Potential collaborators:

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators:

Potential Projects:

Smart ID cards (students & employees)

Potential collaborators: Paulina Cardaci, Drew Goldstein, Joanne Kearns

Timesheets

Potential collaborators:

Procurement/Virtual Credit Cards

Potential collaborators:

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators: Karyn Norberg

Potential Projects:

New Employee Orientation

Potential Collaborators: Karyn Norberg, Alexander Clemente

Follow a Titan (shadow a colleague from another department to get to know more about what their day-to-day looks like)

Potential Collaborators: Karyn Norberg, Kelly Meola

Onboarding Software

Potential Collaborators: Karyn Norberg, Joanne Kearns, Lori Sanchez

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators:

Potential Projects:

Creating interdisciplinary workshops or classes that encourage writing for different interests (i.e. A music student could write lyrics or essays about a focused topic of interest, a health services student might write about topics in their field, any and all majors would be able to submit something.)

Partnership with recording studio for music and arts exhibits. (i.e. band comes in and performs, we record and edit post on socials as an example of what the school is capable of)

Speaker series (i.e. history/political science; revise/expand continuity of government)

Potential collaborators:

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators:

Potential Projects:

Broken Steps (address a current topic. Teach students discourse. America's future. city trip to Federal Hall)

Potential collaborators: Frank Menzle, Heather Schaab

Website: have students in programs come up with video promotional content to show off their area.

Potential collaborators:

Have a competition for the logo/insignia for the patrol cars

Potential collaborators:

Interview Professionals: Set up monthly meeting and bring professionals from various career paths or each month has a theme, for example: medical professional and then next month law enforcement, etc...to discuss career path, day to day duties, networking opportunities, internship/job opportunities.

Potential collaborators:

Plant hardwood trees on the west side of the HPE Building and the west side of the LHT Building. Have the LHT Students plan the specifics of such a program and have them plant the trees. The shade from said trees would shade the corridors from sunlight in the summer, thus cooling the buildings. Sunlight would enter the corridors in winter, thus heating the buildings. Such a program would give CCM much good press as an environmentally conscious school.

Potential collaborators: Julie Gause

Discipline specific field trips (i.e. Body Exhibit)

Potential collaborators:

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators:

Potential Projects:

Classroom upgrades (can we take a couple of classrooms and make them really state of the art for lecturing or teaching. (Dsp, give teachers mics, cameras in classrooms, recording)

Potential collaborators:

Studio upgrade (what's the difference between our studio and a professional studio?)

Potential collaborators:

Ultimatte: collaborate with graphic design for digital sets. Allows other depts to use for trainings and videos.

Potential collaborators:

Center for Adult Learners

Potential collaborators: Kelly Meola

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators:

Potential Projects:

Highlight/utilize Water feature (lake)

Potential collaborators:

Bring back watershed assessment training in Env. Sci. and expanded to include high schools.

Potential collaborators: Matt Nielsen

Instagram Selfie Advertising campaign/analogous panda statue promotion

Potential collaborators:

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators:

Potential Projects:

Expanded gym hours/Crossfit/exercise classes

Potential collaborators: Drew Goldstein, Karyn Norberg

Available hardware grant (i.e. ipad/tablets)

Potential collaborators: Mary Nasse, Paulina Cardaci

Free resource database

Potential collaborators:

Preschool for staff

Potential collaborators: Matt Nielsen

Dog sitting

Potential collaborators: Matt Nielsen

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators:

Outdoor learning experience course work that could be offered here at CCM.

Potential collaborators:

Establish a nuclear semiotics course here at CCM. Nuclear semiotics involves the storage and disposal of nuclear debris. The course would be both technically and socially oriented. The technical side of the course would be based on the engineering and scientific problems associated with the nuclear industry. The social side of the course would deal with the problems associated with conveying warnings of the dangers associated with nuclear materials. It would involve input from the language department. It would also involve input from the art department. Such a course would be unusual and as such, it would bring attention to CCM and it would attract students.

Potential collaborators:

Have the computer science department review the Apollo/Icarus program from 1969. That program was originally held at MIT and it involved the possibility of the asteroid Icarus colliding with the Earth. Plans were made to deflect the asteroid by using the apparatus being built for the Apollo program to carry nuclear weapons to Icarus and push it away from the Earth. Develop a computer game from this program, and copyright and market it.

Potential collaborators:

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators:

Potential Projects:

CCM Day/Titus Birthday Celebration

Potential collaborators:

Display public art (i.e. in Student Center)

Potential collaborators: Kelly Meola, Matt Nielsen, Mary Nasse, Don Phelps, Julie Gause

Interdisciplinary Speaker Series (i.e. History or Anatomy or Business of Math)

Potential collaborators:

Free life skills courses (i.e. financial literacy, taxes, retirement)

Potential collaborators: Kelly Meola

Farmers Market at CCM

Collaboration with LHT to incorporate into courses

Considerations to teach regarding cannabis ethics, legal matters, business

Beehives/local honey

Community Garden plots

Potential collaborators:

Dog Park

Potential collaborators:

# data[].attributes.body
*Please use the comment section to add your name as a potential collaborator. Be sure to include theme and/or project(s).

Potential theme collaborators:

Potential Projects:

New vending machines (healthier options, meals i.e. sandwiches, ramen, pizza, etc)