Guest post from Shani Fletcher, special to the FSNE for the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge
Hello! I write to you all from my Dorchester, Massachusetts, home, where I have mostly been since March 17, working from home and social distancing to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
When I was asked to contribute to this blog, I wasn’t sure what exactly to write about. Even though I have spent the bulk of the last 11 years devoted to food justice. I entered this career because I was passionate about growing vegetables and equally passionate about ending racism and other oppressions. When I discovered there was an area of work where I could be deeply engaged in both, specifically through urban farming, I was over the moon. And I took a left turn in my career in order to pursue this invigorating work.
And what a peculiar but also fitting time to be asked to write about racial equity in the food system – when all of life around the world has been dramatically affected by this pandemic, when we are all scared, whether we can tell we are or not, and when we all still have a need to eat.
So much has been laid bare in this crisis, if you can stand to look. The workers who TRULY make our modern society function are, on the whole, not paid nearly enough for the work that they do, we can get by with much less travel (and the accompanying carbon footprint) than we may have previously thought, and it really does take a village to raise a child – ask any of the parents currently quarantined with their children!
Where food access is concerned, racial inequities have been rampant for centuries, and they too are being laid bare, and worsened, by the current public health crisis. The poor and working-class population of our country – and the world – is disproportionately comprised of people of color. Our communities tend to have fewer grocery stores, less fresh produce, more processed foods, and less access to reliable transit than higher-income and predominantly white neighborhoods. In a crisis such as this one, when people who can afford to are buying groceries in bulk, and other people are losing the low-wage jobs they had – if they had them – the disparity in food access between these communities only grows. In addition, low-income people of color are more likely to live in high-density neighborhoods and have elders living at home, which puts incredible pressure on the everyday goings-on in the COVID-19 era. When people are at higher risk to catch the virus and fearful of giving it to their elders, travel to a grocery store, possibly on public transit, becomes a threat they can’t afford health wise, never mind financially.
In this time, I find the increasing numbers of urban farms, community gardens, and food forests that I see quite hopeful. Local growing, right in our very neighborhoods, is a key way we can take greater control of our food supply for ourselves, our families, and our communities. When we can’t count on getting to the grocery store safely, but we can walk a block or two (mask in place and 6+ feet apart!) and pick some vegetables and fruits for our families, or buy from our local urban farmer at their farm stand (while practicing social distancing!) there are almost too many benefits to count. Food pantries will also be critical in the coming weeks and months with millions of US residents suddenly unemployed, and local food growers can be a resource for these institutions as well. Supporting and amplifying these points of food access make low-income communities of color more resilient, happier, and, I would argue – even more delicious!
Some terrific urban farms, community gardens, and food forests in Boston, where I live, are run by these organizations: Urban Farming Institute, The Food Project, Victory Programs, We Grow Microgreens, Eastie Farm, Haley House, Trustees of Reservations, and Boston Food Forest Coalition. Find yours and spread the word!
I hope you and yours, dear reader, are faring well in these challenging times. I hope as spring rolls into summer, you have access to some local greens and hometown fruits, and you can help others in your community get the access they need as well. Together we can weather this, and take what we learn into the future – a future where racial food inequities are a thing of the past.
Shani Fletcher is an FSNE Trailblazer, a community gardener, a former urban farmer, and runs the Grassroots Open Space Program at the City of Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development. Any opinions expressed here are her own.
