The Good Food Revolution

School lunches are often unsung heroes of many modern American households. Frequently overlooked and disregarded because of their stigma, school lunches are a key ingredient that may help make the world a better place. Unknowingly, great numbers of individuals in our communities deal with food insecurities every day of their lives. It baffles me that in an advanced society many people do not have the resources to provide food for themselves or their families. Until it affected me personally, I was unaware nor passionate about the struggles of food insecurity. My passion for solving food insecurity in my local community has led me to gain both experience and leadership through understanding and advocating for those around me.

In South Central, Los Angeles, there is a food epidemic taking place among the population. For miles and miles, the only easily attainable food source is fast food; causing the overconsumption of un-nutritious, greasy, and fattening food. This is the problem brought to the public’s attention by speaker Ron Finley in his Ted Talks speech, “A Guerilla Gardener in South Central L.A.” Finley explains how everywhere he looks in his native South Central, all he sees are fast food chains and Dialysis clinics opened due to the lack of nutritious food. Finley views the lack of a healthy food source as a serious problem, and brings up

In the book Good Food Revolution, it focuses on the main point of Will Allen’s life and how he has always been around food. I believe the book does a good job with tying in different connections and references with food and with Will Allen since he has grown up around food ever since he was little. When the book states “The fate of a seed can be predicted by the health of the soil where it takes the root” I believe that Will Allen is referring and connecting it back to himself. I believe he relates this to himself because a plant's roots are surrounded by soil and Will Allen has planted his roots around farming and food. A plant needs soil to survive and Will Allen needed farming to survive. His whole life and job has revolved around planting. A plant lives off of what it knows and its surroundings and Will Allen did the same. His parents planted the seed to get the initial start in farming so he picks up where they left off. Even though he was not into farming when he was younger he learned to grow and find a  passion for farming as he grew older because it has always been around him. No matter where he went he held onto farming because that is all he knew. I believe this connection between Will Allen and the quote about the plant enhances and helps tell the story of how Will Allen got involved in farming.

All food should be available to all people. The concept of this is dwelled on in the article, “Food justice and Food retail in Los Angeles” by Mark Valliantos. Throughout the article, Valliantos maintains the notion that healthy food should be within everyone’s reach, yet inner cities are still suffering from shortages of fresh produce. To see this issue in action, Valliantos documented this reoccurring phenomenon in Los Angeles. The author gives a description of two areas within the city of Los Angeles, and how they are economically divided based on the amount of healthy produce one has at its disposal. He makes note of programs that already exist to help low income families receive healthy foods that they could not afford. He also

Many areas in the United States contain an abundance of neighborhoods that function with little to no healthy food sources nearby because of the large number of people in poverty. With the fleeing number of locally owned grocery stores and convenient fast food restaurants sprouting in urban and rural areas, residents do not have an adequate quantity of fruits and vegetables readily available. The City of Baltimore defines a food desert as “an area where the distance to a supermarket is more than one quarter of a mile; the median household income is at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level; over 30 percent of households have no vehicle available; and the average Healthy Food Availability Index score [convenience stores, corner stores, and supermarkets] is low” (Food Deserts). Baltimore City today “ranks second among similarly sized cities for the number of low-income people living in food insecure areas” (Freishtat, 2014). Leaving eight percent of white Baltimoreans living in food deserts compared to the 35 percent of black Baltimoreans, and 30 percent of children living in food deserts in Baltimore alone (Buczynski, 2015).

During this week’s class, I learned even more about where our food comes from with the conclusion of the movie Farmland, our class discussions, and readings. What I took away most from this week was how the societal image of farming and food production is typically not black and white, and how it’s very different from how we imagine our food is produced. The selections from Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma were particularly interesting to me.

Poverty is an issue that can be discussed at great lengths, but the real challenge is finding effective ways to reduce or eradicate poverty. It is important to spend quality time developing approaches to the issue of poverty and how to alleviate it. Individuals living in poverty lead a life of limited opportunities and one of these limited opportunities is access to good quality healthy food. The American Nutrition Association considers this lack of access as a Food Desert defined as, “parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas” ("USDA Defines Food Deserts | American Nutrition Association," n.d.). One way in which American’s can work towards a future with less poverty and eventually one with little to no poverty would be to eliminate the existence of Food Deserts.

In the United States there are States that go un aware of the many possibilities of having fresh produce in their cities. Michael Pollan examines how America is slowly becoming more aware of their food problems that have been created in the recent decade. He also explains how this has happened in America and who is partially responsible to blame. Michael Pollan leans towards the idea that big corporations and minimum wage workers who are very underpaid are all to blame for the lack of food diversity in many communities in America. Pollan uses facts that are relevant to his arguments subject to create a strong argument that persuades the reader. Terms in the article are clearly defined and help to stabilize and strengthen the argument. Pollan successfully presents his argument against big

In the story The Good Food Revolution, Will Allen talks about his struggles as an African American male trying to live out his dream of sustaining a profitable farming career while doing well for the community. What started as a small roadside market is now a national business which helps low-income families gain access to healthy foods and also helps build a better community. Throughout his journey, Allen experienced countless setbacks and was exposed to several issues dealing with race. Access to healthy food is a struggle for the poor, and in particular, African Americans.

Most of the food that ends up in landfill is fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables. Most people will probably never realize how much food they throw away. Landfills just keep getting bigger because of this issue. With the effective ways to help store food properly or donate uneaten food should help the amount of food going into your garbage can and a landfill. With how much we throw away puts all the hard work the workers did to make the food and transport to waste. It’s a good thing they have food banks that are willing to take food donations and give them to people who really need

The last five years of my professional life have been spent working in agriculture, greenspace and nonprofit management. My position as a Greenspace Director has taken me to many underserved communities where food security can be an issue for some of Atlanta’s youngsters. Watching them gain the knowledge of growing, learning about food and nourishment, and how delicious the crisp watery bite of a cucumber off the vine, is part of the amazement I get to experience. Often in these places a bag of Cheetos is more coveted than a vine ripe tomato. Naturally, when I experienced this, my thought (and my current driving force) is: “I want to make a difference here.

There are billions of people struggling every day to have enough to eat, and billions of tons of food being tossed in the garbage, food waste is gaining increasing awareness as a serious environmental and economic issue. Research shows that about 60 million metric tons of food is wasted a year in the United States, with an estimated value of $162 billion. About 32 million tons of it end up in landfills, at a cost of about $1.5 billion a year to local government this economic crisis is worldwide! My research estimates that a third of all the food produced in the world is never consumed, and the total cost of that food waste could be as high as $400 billion a year. The food discarded by retailers and consumers in the most developed countries would be more than enough to feed all of the world’s hungry people, but it is not just those countries that have problems with food waste, it is also an issue in African countries like South Africa. The problem is expected to grow worse as the world’s population increases, unless actions are taken to reduce the waste. Food waste is not only a social cost, but it contributes to growing environmental problems like global warming, experts say, with the production of food consuming vast quantities of water, fertilizer and land. The fuel that is burned to process, refrigerate and transport it also adds to the environmental cost. Most food waste is thrown away in landfills, where it decomposes and emits methane, a potent

The everyday American on average wastes an astonishing twenty pounds of food each month (Gunders). Food waste is defined, as food that was intended for human consumption but was never eaten. Food waste in America is a massive problem; perfectly edible food is spoiled and discarded at every section of the food supply chain, which causes severe consequences for the environment and the economy. If Americans wasted 5% less food, the country as a whole would save fifty million dollars yearly (Hall). Not only would reducing food waste help save money but also it would immensely help climate change, as decomposing food in landfills creates methane gas. CO2 is known as the main culprit of climate change however; although methane gas is less talked

Urban communities have noticeably been bombarded by fast food and non-nutritional food products, which contribute to the neighborhood environment turning into a food desert. In the qualitative study “Growing what you eat: Developing community gardens in Baltimore, Maryland” by Michelle P. Corrigan, the author states that “…obtaining healthy and affordable food sometimes proves difficult, especially for low-income and minority populations who often lack access to automobile and public transportation…” Without the option to choose healthier alternatives, low-income communities are forced to buy

Food culture in the United States is consistently changing and accumulating new traditions all the time. It is quite challenging to define American food with its own single dish, since America is pretty much the melting pot of various cultures. In New York State, but more specifically New York City is a place where people can explore the diversity of food and its cultures from all over the world.