“The public health issue of violence is connected to the public health issue of chronic-diet related diseases.”

“You can die by the gun or die from the lack of proper food.”

-LaDonna Redmond, TEDxManhattan, 2013

I find Redmond’s analogy to be shockingly accurate and particularly moving. Although I first watched her Ted Talk back in April, after a week of living and working in Washington, DC., I now feel that I have a more concrete understanding of what she meant by this connection. It’s also bound to develop more fully as the summer continues. This week in DC we learned about the history of the city and how it has shaped the DC we know today. It’s one thing to read a history book or a website or even a statistic, it’s another to walk the streets of those communities that are considered “food deserts,” to talk with community members, and to witness the gentrification in some areas and the increasing concentration of poverty in others.

In addition to talking a lot about food and thinking more critically about food systems, food deserts, food access, food equality, etc., this past week I’ve also done a fair amount of observing (a.k.a people watching). While I won’t waste time discussing every one of my observations, I’d like to point out two anecdotes that I think highlight the challenges and opportunities that Redmond, Petrini, Pollan and Berry all touch on in their discussions of food justice. Earlier in the week, while riding the metro I watched a mother feed her crying toddler the last few crumbs of a package of powdered donuts. While I never will know the entire situation, I could not help but think of where those donuts came from, how much they cost, and what kinds of processes and ingredients went into making them. They were likely one of the cheapest calorie sources that one could find at a local convenience store, and they certainly wouldn’t have fit Petrini’s definition of good, clean and fair food or any of the guidelines that Pollan identifies for eating real, ordinary food. Unfortunately, these convenience stores might be the only nearby food sources for people in lower income neighborhoods of the District. There simply aren’t many affordable and healthy options, which is a frustration that Redmond expresses.

I’m optimistic, however, that this will not be the reality for these communities in the near future. DC is taking some big steps towards investing in food access and improving the lives of underrepresented and underserved populations. The Sustainable DC Plan as well as many other initiatives is helping to build urban communities that will some day provide good, clean, and fair food to all of its members. For example, DC Central Kitchen introduced a Healthy Corner Stores program, which is an initiative that helps source local, fresh produce to corner grocery stores in lower income neighborhoods of DC. My second anecdote highlights this optimistic perspective. While helping with a school field trip at the urban farm I’m working at, I listened to one of the young students accurately explain the process and importance of pollination. I was impressed. All of the students were excited to learn about gardening, bees, and vegetables. By educating this next generation to be conscious of  food in the way that Berry, Pollan and Petrini suggest, I think there is hope for healing and building communities that suffer from the public health issues of violence and chronic-diet related disease.