Food Justice is a long and complicated topic. It has always baffled me and has caused me to think, think more, and rethink my position and views on it. Coming to D.C. in May, I did not have any clue how serious food deserts and poverty levels were. I lived in my own bubble where the kroger and whole foods were a few minutes away and mom and dad would be able to drive there any day of the week to pick up the ingredient we were missing for dinner.
My job here in D.C. is for a place that helps serve people who cannot afford purchasing their own food, medical care, legal, social services. It helps provide these things with dignity and by trying to incorporate these people’s choice and control as much as possible. I have really fallen into liking this way of doing things because people who need this kind of help do not want to be in this position. They rarely have control over what life events have brought them to this point, so our company, Bread for the City, tries to create an eviornment which helps the clients feel as though they can make their own choices and therefore help control what kinds of foods they are getting and how they are being processed.
Clients are allowed to grow their own produce on the rooftop and also are given options in the food pantry, I like this idea of dignity and choices. This is a small scheme in food justice and is one company, but other places like Bread for the City are popping up all around the country. These kinds of places give programs like educational programs, social programs, and networking programs to enable clients to get back on their feet. This is ultimately the goal. I think that feeding people and reacting in emergency programs is great, but I also think that we need to be directly focused on getting people on their feet and setting them up for long-term success and not just emergency situational feeding.
I really like your point about being “directly focused on getting people on their feet and setting them up for long-term success and not just emergency situational feeding.” Like the old adage goes: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” One of the things I think we don’t do a very good job of in this country with regards to “aid” is recognizing the skills that people already have in the communities we are trying to serve. Just because a person does not have the ability to procure all of the food they need does not mean that have no skills and are completely reliant. Someone may be an incredibly ingenious farmer but given the expense of land find herself needing food aid. Instead of simply handing her a couple cans of food every week, if we work with the talent she already possess and her existing knowledge we can much more quickly help her to get to a place where she is more food secure. If we want to make sure that people that are food insecure are able to move towards more self sufficiency when it comes to feeding themselves, then we need to utilize the skills that they already have.
On our last fifth day, Rick Leach, the Director and CEO of World Food Program CSA also brought up the idea of dignity like you did. He said that they have recently partnered up with MasterCard to directly deposit $20 into the cardholder’s card every week. I admit the first thing that popped up in my head when I heard “MasterCard” was “profit-making”. However, now I understand the impact. The fact that these low-income cardholders are able to go into their local supermarket and buy food themselves reserves dignity in them.
I have always thought helping people in need was important and any type of volunteer is just good. Yet, I never looked at it from the aspect of the receiver. Sometimes, we have the stereotype to pay special attention to the needy, but they are normal people too like me and you. This is the reason why I agree with you that educational, social and networking programs might be more effective because we are only providing them with the resources. Instead of just giving them free help, they are able to put in their own effort to improve and fight for a better life with our guidance along the way. If successful, this will definitely change their life and we will also be proud of them that they are able to stand up on their own.
I appreciate your perspective and commitment to helping others while respecting them and aiding them in self-fulfillment. I agree with you that the future of a healthy food system is not found in emergency programs. Nor do I think it is found in long term government initiatives either. rather it is a combination of emergency relief that is aimed at training and promoting self-fulfillment and participation, government programs that focus on locality and most importantly, on community (street, neighborhood) food projects that incorporate land based gardens, rooftops, and small-medium aquaculture (specifically aquaponic) operations. this way region development would start at the smallest community level and work its way up in an equal and gradual fashion.