Justice From the Ground Up:
More than 1.2 million New York City residents are food insecure. The vast majority of the city’s food-insecure population lives in low-income, minority neighborhoods where there is limited access to healthy, affordable food. Such communities have long been marginalized by New York’s food system, which is riddled with inequities that effectively prevent certain demographics from having the same access to food as do their more affluent counterparts. Not only does this leave many hungry, but the limited sources of available food in these areas are often unhealthy and contribute to elevated obesity rates.
When a community has access to affordable, healthy, safe food, great things happen. It can improve the health, wealth, and power of its citizens, helping them to not just survive, but thrive. And while New York City’s food apartheid is not a simple problem to solve, we are confident that it is solvable.
At Just Food, we make it our mission to uplift the people of New York City who have been victimized by food systems. We attack the issue at its core by working together with regional farmers and producers to create direct routes of access to fresh, sustainable produce for the city’s residents, regardless of socioeconomic status. Furthermore, we ensure that people get the most out of their food by teaching them how to prepare it in the form of culturally appreciated dishes, and we teach others how to grow the food justice movement in their own communities. The effects of our work are amplified in our communities as well as those of our partners and trainees.