By Amisha Temal
At my former job, my coworkers and I visited a community farm located in East New York, Brooklyn. The East New York Community Farm grows and provides agriculture to the people who live nearby sustainably and for free. They grow over 70 different types of vegetables. The farm also provides garden beds for members of the community to grow their produce. The farm has been supporting East New York since 2000. The farm was around 2 acres big. The garden was well kept and organized. There was a large selection of produce to choose from. There were cherry tomatoes, okra, long beans, kale, cilantro, bitter melon, and swiss chard. Many individuals living in East New York are also immigrants from Asia, the Caribbean, and West Africa. The farm caters to the residents of East New York’s cultural background by growing produce with cultural significance like Jamaican callaloo, pimento peppers, scotch bonnet peppers, etc. On the day I visited the farm, around 15 people were present working. It was around 10:00 am and they were just arriving at the farm for the day. They walked in and talked amongst themselves and exchanged friendly remarks and good mornings. A couple of minutes later they were in the garden working. It was a scorching hot day and I had nothing but admiration for the generous workers gardening out in the heat.
Something I couldn’t help but notice is the lack of grocery stores in East New York. This is because East New York is a Food Desert. A Food Desert is an urban or rural area that has limited access to affordable produce, dairy, or healthy and fresh food. Most Food Deserts tend to be in low-income and poor neighborhoods with racially marginalized residents. In many cases, residents live more than a mile away from grocery stores that provide affordable healthy food. The far distance is another huge factor contributing to the difficulty of accessing healthy food since many people in low-income neighborhoods don’t and can’t afford to have a car. Going to a grocery store miles away requires time that not many people have. The US Department of Agriculture estimates that around 23 million people live in food deserts. It’s estimated that around 3 million people in New York City live in Food Deserts.
Hispanic and Black families predominantly occupy East New York. In the United States, Black and Hispanic neighborhoods tend to suffer from food insecurity at an elevated rate. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, approximately 22.5% of African- American and 18.5% Hispanic households suffer from food insecurity. This is an outcome of systemic racism creating numerous obstacles blocking racially marginalized individuals from escaping financial issues. Hispanic and Black people face discrimination in work environments and receive income inequality more than any other racial group. They often receive fewer promotions and raises than their white co-workers. This leads to them receiving a lower median wage than deserved. The absence of a solid and reasonable income makes it increasingly difficult for Black and Hispanic individuals to live a healthy life.
When individuals can’t access or afford healthy food they are left with no other choice but to purchase and consume unhealthy processed food from fast-food chains since they provide relatively cheap food. Ironically, Fast food places are much more common in poor communities than healthy food. Fast food places are also increasingly common in areas where a large number of people of color live. If you have ever been to New York City, you would immediately notice the surplus of fast-food restaurants. Places with a slew of fast-food restaurants and an absence of establishments that distribute healthy food are food swamps.
The existence of Food Swamps contributes to the decline in the health of millions of people in America. Obviously eating only food with high calories, sodium, and fats will take a huge toll on one’s physical health. The most widespread health issue caused by Food Swamps is obesity. Marginalized residents residing in urban or rural areas in the US tend to have higher rates of obesity in relation to residents of wealthier communities in the US. The high rate of obesity leads to other health complications like diabetes, heart disease, and cardiovascular disease. The lack of exposure to healthy food is especially harmful to children. 28% of children within countries with high rates of food insecurity do not have secure access to healthy food. Studies also revealed that children born to food insecure parents are at higher risk of having anemia and asthma. Lack of healthy food also can cause delays in social and physical development. This contributes to children struggling in their studies and getting low grades.
My admiration for the East New York Farm and the workers who run it skyrockets when considering all the difficulties that come with people not having access to good food. It’s sad that it’s difficult in the first place. How can we combat Food Inequity? We can do more than just open up more affordable grocery stores. We can open Food pantries, have cities provide healthy community meals, have health facilities distribute information of the healthy food crisis in America, and much more. We can take empty lots (which there’s an abundance of in New York City) and transform them into community farms. The list goes on and on. All in all, it’s important to help each other out. If you know someone who suffers from food insecurity, encourage them to reach out to organizations like Why Hunger, Feeding America, Black Urban Growers for support and resources. Contacting local food banks or soup kitchens is a great idea as well. A little support can go a long way.
Want to know more? Visit these websites below.
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/combat-food-deserts-and-food-swamps
https://www.livingproofnyc.com/food-inequality-in-america-what-living-in-a-food-desert-looks-like/
http://thefoodtrust.org/uploads/media_items/grocerygap.original.pdf
